


Silver Dawn

by AvyJC15



Series: The Silver Eyed [1]
Category: Twilight (Movies)
Genre: Demigods, Eventual Crossover, F/M, Gen, Witches, Wizards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-05 18:53:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 85,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15177092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvyJC15/pseuds/AvyJC15
Summary: Milarayne Williams moved to Forks to live with her Godfather and godsister, Charlie and Bella Swan, hoping she would finally live a normal life. But apparently, normal isn't really her normal. What will happen when she finds herself getting mingled with things that are pulling her more and more towards her past every day? What kind of battlefield will she be a part of, this time?**ATTENTION** I DO NOT OWN ANY OF STEPHENIE MEYER'S ORIGINAL CHARACTERS FROM THE ORIGINAL TWILIGHT SAGA. I ONLY OWN MILARAYNE, HER FAMILY, MASON, JASON, AND SOME OTHERS I MIGHT CREATE FURTHER ON.





	1. Preface

I'd never given _much_ thought to how I would die, though frankly, it's not like I'd never had a reason _not_ to. What reason must I have gotten, you may wonder. Well, the answer to that is simple:

I _can't_ die... or so I have come to discover a while back.

This discovery came to me when I tried to kill myself at the age of thirteen. Why would I even consider suicide at that age in the first place? Well, let's see...

My father left for the army right on my fifth birthday; he never wrote to any of us or even called until the day I turned nine. I had found a letter in our attic saying he was dead. Then, I met _him_... and that was when my whole life changed. He was insanely strong, incredibly fast, had skin almost white as snow, was as cold as ice... anyone else would have undoubtedly thought he was human, but I knew better as I realized the obvious through every day I spent with him... he seemingly _never_ _aged_.

A part of me knew _what_ he was, and yet... I just wasn't afraid of him, nor of the others despite their consideration of themselves as blood and soul-sucking demons. I knew he wouldn't hurt me, but apparently, I assumed too soon. Or maybe, it was just my wishful thinking, but I know that as much as I, myself was at fault for being so gullible and falling so easily into his trap, it was his own fault I fell for him. His fault I had risked my life for him, without much of a result. It was his fault I had been thought to be crazy, and I had been left so... disabled; after all, I had been but a kid.

I didn't know any better then, and, at the end of the day, it was his word and theirs, against mine— a young, naïve girl who was but nine years of age.

It was all his— _their_ fault. All their fault I had been left alone... to suffer for the rest of my _seemingly_ eternal life, hearing those... things, seeing them, feeling an unbearable pain— and worst of all, causing pain and even death to others...


	2. Refuge

My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled up. It was fifty-one degrees in Chicago, chillier than usual, but definitely not as cold as the town I'd be living in starting tomorrow. [I was wearing a large gray tank top over a black long-sleeved t-shirt, black jeans, and black converse.](https://urstyle.com/styles/1667969)

Around my neck hung silver-colored stone my younger brother, Andrew, and I had found it in a river a while back... before the  _change—_ hanging from a black thin rope, on my right wrist a colorful woven bracelet Lilly— my little sister— had made for me before I left and on my left wrist jingled the charm bracelet my grandmother had given me before her passing.

My carry-on item was my dad's old blue denim jacket from a while back before he had gone off to join the navy and my duffle bag with the few outfits I had; I didn't have many clothes as the last time I actually wore something that wasn't a hospital attire, I was nine. I had only had time to get myself a few clothes and womanly necessities when I...  _left_ the institute before calling for permission to go out to Forks.

Despite all the ups and downs I've been through, and the fact that I didn't really want to go there, I decided to go along with the plan I set myself, even if the main reason was, actually, only to rid my 'family' of me.

Ever since my ninth birthday— when it all started— my mother no longer treated me as her daughter, my eldest sister— Sheryl— wouldn't even share a look with me without glaring, my older brother— Kevin— whom I had always been the closest to doesn't even look at me or talks to me anymore, my younger brother doesn't speak when my mother's around, but when it's just the two of us, he acts like if nothing happened and spends as much time as he can with me... and my little sister, the youngest of us all... well she's too young to understand what's going on, but she's smart and secretly knows everything...

In the northwest of the Washington State was a small town, existing under a near-constant cover of clouds, named Forks. It rains there more than it does in any other place in this country. I had never gone there, but it was currently in that town that I'd be compelled to spend God knows how long. It was to Forks that I now exiled myself— an action that I took with great horror yet, somehow, relief even though deep down I knew that in all honesty... I detested Forks. I hated Chicago as well. I hated the sun and the blistering heat from its summers, and the immense cold bolstering the windy town in winters— winters that could rival those from Canada. 

I hated everyone there, every person who had thought of me being a crazy girl. I hated the entire vigorous, sprawling city and everyone and everything in it.

"Milarayne," Claire said to me before I got on the plane. "Remember, your things are already there, and he will be waiting for you at the airport so don't wander off, okay?"

My mother looks like me, except with lighter skin, _much_ shorter hair and laugh lines that hadn't been seen ever since my father passed away years ago. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike, emotionless brown eyes.

How could I leave this harebrained woman to fend for Andrew and Lilly?

The other two could take care of themselves, but the idea of leaving my two younger siblings alone with either of them and the now heartless woman I sadly had to call my 'mother', hurt. Of course, she had Fred now, my step-father, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when they got lost, but still... even he was more loving and caring than she has ever been in the past twelve years, she had changed a lot and I couldn't help but fear the fate of my baby brother and sister.

"I know," I replied monotonously. "And if anyone asks why I'm not with my parents I'll answer that it's because you two travel a lot and decided it was for the best to leave me in one stable place since you wanted me to have a good and unpressured education. I won't mention Andrew, Lilly... or the others."

I'd been talking this way ever since I was taken out of the first mental institution for the first time at eleven years old; everything I said was rehearsed and monotonous.

She nodded. "Tell Charlie I said hi."

"I will."

"I'll see you soon," she said. "You can come home whenever you want— I'll come right back as soon as you need me." But I could see the repulse, the disgust and the lie in her eyes behind the promise.

"Don't worry about me," I replied— for the millionth time— in monotone. "It'll be great," I lied, not bothering to call her 'mom'.

She hugged me. Her arms were loose and hesitant around me, the embrace leaving this unloving and empty feeling behind. It lasted for a few seconds before she quickly let go of me, and then I wordlessly got on the plane, and she was gone.

It's a four-and-a-half hour, non-stop flight from Chicago to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little freaked out about. I hadn't been in any physical contact with anybody other than Andrew and Lilly in the past few painful years of my life. Charlie would come with Bella sometimes, way back when, but that was only my first three years in. Then, he got promoted at the precinct he works at and could never come to visit me anymore; we would only speak through 15-minute phone calls, sometimes just the both of us, sometimes with his kid as well; she only stayed over at his place during summers as she lived with her mother over in Arizona. I think it was Phoenix? 

I don't count my mother's... embrace from a few hours ago as an ice-breaking physical contact since it barely lasted a few seconds... so you can imagine how panicked I was when Charlie had enveloped me in a  _really_  tight hug.

Yes, I was internally freaking out.

I had even started hyperventilating a bit, but even so, once he had let go of me and we were on our way, I couldn't deny that I was still a bit surprised at the fact that Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He'd already gotten me registered for high school along with his kid, Bella, who had apparently decided to come and live with him too. But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call 'verbose,' and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by this sudden decision— like my step-father before me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks.

When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen— just unavoidable. But the rain or cold wasn't really new to me since Chicago,  _'The Windy City,'_  was pretty much the same... kind of... not really, but I sure wasn't going to miss it. Just as my mother had stated before I left, Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. This, I was expecting, too. Charlie is now Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks, as has been for a good nine years now.

I instantly wanted a car because I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop. Fortunately, I had received the news that Bella already had a car of her own, so she'd be the one driving me to and from school. The moment Charlie saw me get off the plane, he ran up to me and practically slammed me against his chest, engulfing me into a vice tight hug, making me slightly tense up.

"It's good to see you, Miles," he said, smiling. "You haven't changed much. How's Claire?"

I simply nodded, not quite managing a smile. "She's fine. It's good to see you too, Uncle Lee-lee."

I was allowed to call him Charlie if I wanted to since he was just my godfather, but even so, I preferred calling him Uncle Lee-lee, a nickname I had given him for as long as I can remember, because I respected him  _that_  much, unlike my 'mom.'

I called her Claire all the time even in her face.

I had only one duffle-bag, since the rest of my things were already at his place, so it all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser. We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, for about three minutes, and that was pretty much it for conversation. After that, we stared out the windows in silence. 

It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. I suddenly felt better being here though nonetheless there was still that  _something_  I couldn't quite put my pinky on that bothered me. Even so, I didn't care, I had already changed my earlier judgment on the territory.

I somehow liked it more.

Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves. It was too green— an alien planet. Even the feeling I got felt alien to me. This place felt like... home. Not like back in Chicago. There I used to feel like a stranger, an outcast. Here it really feels like home, like this is my refuge, my safe harbor, my new shelter. I felt endangered yet quite safe. It was confusing, yet I went along with it. I couldn't wait to start all over as that was now my lifetime quest.

Eventually, we made it to Charlie's. He lived in a small, four-bedroom house that he'd bought with Renée, Bella's mom, in the early days of their marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had— the early ones.

There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was Bella's new— well, new to me— truck. It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To my intense surprise, I loved it. It seemed... welcoming so I guessed it had been her welcoming present. I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged— the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.

"What kind of truck is that?" I asked, curiously.

"A Chevy."

"Where did you find it?"

"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push? My old friend I used to tell you about?" La Push is the tiny Native-American reservation on the coast.

I pursed my lips trying to remember.

"He used to go fishing with Bells and I during the summer," Charlie prompted.

Something clicked in my head. "Oh," I said as I nodded at the memories of the man being mentioned a few times in my childhood.

"He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when I didn't add anything else, "so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap. So I got it for Bells."

"What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask.

"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine— it's only a few years old, really."

I hoped he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily. "When did he buy it?"

"He bought it in 1984, I think."

"Did he buy it new?"

"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties— or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.

"Ch— Uncle Lee-lee, I don't really know much about cars, but I think I'd be able to fix it if anything went wrong... if we couldn't afford a mechanic..."

"Really, Miles, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore, but— wa— wh— you can fix a car?"

I shrugged. "I learned with a few...  _people_  I knew a while back before I... um went in." I then proceeded to ask him, "How,  _exactly_ , cheap is cheap?"

"Well, kid, I kind of already bought it. As a homecoming gift for Bells, so you'd pretty much have to go along with it." Charlie peeked sideways at me as I could see his cheeks turning scarlet from the corner of my eye.

I chuckled softly. "I like it. And Bella loves it, no doubt, Charlie. I wasn't trying to offend you or anything; I was simply curious about its history," I reassured him, gently patting his shoulder.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said gruffly, embarrassed again.

I got the east bedroom that faced out over the backyard, it was the one in front of Bella's room and right beside Charlie's. The room was strangely familiar; it looked as if it had belonged to me since I was born. I loved it because it somehow described my feelings and emotions and everything was placed in a way that pleased me perfectly, so I had no doubt that both, Bella and Charlie, had arranged my room together. The wooden floor, the dark wine-red walls, the peaked ceiling, the silvered lace curtains around the window.

A desk which held a second-hand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from Andrew and my step-father— who still surprises me with the fact that he actually likes me and cares about me as if I was his own daughter— so that we could stay in touch easily. A rocking chair in the corner near the window-seat. There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Bella and Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.

One of the best things about Charlie is he doesn't hover. He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother being afraid I would hurt someone. That was quite insulting, that's why it was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape. I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime when I would have to think about the coming morning.

Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven— now fifty-nine with Bella and me— thousand students; there were more than seven hundred people in the junior class alone I had been supposed to be attending back in Chicago. All of the kids here had grown up together— their grandparents had been toddlers together.

I would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak. At least I had Bella to share that title with.

Maybe, if I looked like a girl from Chicago should, I could work this to my advantage. But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I should be pale and skanky, and yet sporty, black-haired— a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps— all the things that go with living in a big city. Instead, my skin looked considerably tanned despite nearly never spending time out in the sun; yet I was really pale for a seemingly tanned girl, but still, I was the only one in my family with skin this dark— without even the excuse of brown eyes or black hair, despite the random sunny days. I had always been slender, but soft,  _obviously_  not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary practice to play sports without humiliating myself.

When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself up after the day of travel. I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed through my tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already I looked sallower, unhealthy. My skin could be pretty— it was very clear, almost translucent-looking— but it all depended on color. I had no color here. Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I'd never fit in. And if I couldn't find a niche in a damn mental institution or in any school with three thousand people, what were my chances here?

I didn't relate well to people my age. Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to people, period. Sometimes I wondered if I saw the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world saw through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain. No, not  _maybe_ , there  _is_  a glitch in my brain. That was proved when I was taken away for the first time... and the many times after that. But the cause didn't matter. All that mattered was the effect.

And tomorrow would be just the beginning.

I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done trying to make myself cry— it's almost like I just can't cry at all anymore; at this point, I've probably got it worse than those bloodsuckers.

The constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof didn't make it any better; it wouldn't fade into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head and later added the pillow, too. But I just couldn't fall asleep until little after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle. Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here; it was like a cage.

As morning light finally creaked through my window, I opened my eyes and just lay there, in my  _refuge_ , wanting to stay there all day. But I had to face the world if I wanted a clean start, I had to be strong. I got up and went to my closet to bring out [a cleaner pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt that I put over a black long-sleeved shirt and my denim jacket](https://urstyle.com/styles/1750938). After I was dressed, I put on my pair of black converse before grabbing my school bag Charlie had left for me in the rocking chair and heading towards the washroom.

Once there, I decided to do something I had never thought I would do... apply make-up. I already had black nail polish on, so all that was left to do was add a few more dark colors to match it, and that's it.

I applied some eyeliner with great difficulty— I had actually only seen people do this on TV, so I was near shitting myself at the discomfort of pocking my eye-lid this way— some dark blue eyeshade— eyeshadow— whatever this shit is called. I just brushed a little bit of that on though, as I'm not a big fan of all of this, then I added some mascara and some lip balm, and I was done. I studied myself in the mirror, and for the first time in a long time, I showed a bit of emotion... I scowled at myself. I honestly hated that I looked like an outcast no matter what. I mean it's not every day you see a girl with dark yet sickly pale skin, and with natural light brown yet slightly auburn hair that had natural highlights that seemed to change color according to my mood. And to top it all off, I had silvery eyes! Like my eye color was literally silver! I'm simply not normal. I'm human, but definitely not a normal one.

After I was done hating over myself, I left the washroom and made my way down the stairs to the kitchen. Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me. Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. As I fed myself a nice red juicy apple, my mind was suddenly taken away from the examination as I was pulled into a warm hug.

"Oh. My. God. I missed you so much, Rae," Bella said, though it came out pretty muffled as her face was buried in my hair.

At first, I had stiffened, still not used at the physical contact, before awkwardly patting her back after a few seconds. "I missed you too, Bells."

"So," she started as she sat in front of me. "You're staying, right?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

I tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. "For a while. For a  _long_  while."

Her face lit up like on kid on Christmas Eve. "Will you be going to school with me?"

I tried to smile again, though it still came out more like a grimace as I nodded. "I was actually waiting for you to go, you ready?"

She squealed. I cringed; Bella  _actually_  squealed. "Let me just eat an apple, and we'll head out."

I nodded as she chose a red apple just like the one I had been eating. Once we were both done, we headed out towards the truck.

It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as Bella reached for the house key that was hidden under the eaves by the door and locked up. The sloshing of my new none waterproof converse was unnerving. I missed the normal crunch of gravel as I walked. I couldn't pause and admire the truck again as I wanted; I was in a hurry to get out of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under my hood. Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint.

The engine started quickly, to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. The antique radio worked, a plus that I hadn't expected.

I was dazzled by the antiquity, but as soon as the realization of our destination hit me, I started to panic. "Bella, I can't do this, I..."

She looked at me with concern flashing from her eyes. "Rae, come on, you know you can—"

"I c-can't, Bella. I'm scared that I'll..." I whispered, but trailed off, unable to finish.

"You won't. You don't have to be afraid, okay? I'll right there, by your side. We're in this together. If you want, you won't have to speak. You don't need to, I'll speak for you, okay? Just don't back down on me, please, Rae. Please. I need you as much as you need me, right now. We might not be related, but we're still sisters, so please," she pleaded.

And honestly with the puppy dog eyes she was giving me at the moment, I couldn't say no, yet I didn't trust my voice so I simply nodded and we headed off to school.

Finding the school wasn't difficult, though we'd never been there before. The school was, like most other things, just off the highway. It was not obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be the Forks High School, made us stop. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs it was hard to see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution? I wondered nostalgically. Where were the chain-link fences, the metal detectors?

Bella decided to park in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading front office. No one else was parked there, so we were sure it was off limits, but we decided we would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like idiots. I stepped unwillingly out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges with Bella at my side, practically glued to each other. I took a deep breath before opening the door.

Inside, it was brightly lit and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices, and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots as if there wasn't enough greenery outside.

The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed.

The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"

"Um... yes. I'm Isabella Swan and my friend, over here is my godsister, Milarayne Williams," Bella informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes.

Bella was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife come home at last. I, on the other hand... guess my arrival wasn't the surprise I'd expected it to be. But the woman stared at me with what seemed like daze? Seriously? Who would be dazzled by me? I don't even recall being that interesting to become a subject for gossip. She then blinked a few times as if snapping out of a trance.

"Um... right... Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedules right here, and a map of the school."

She brought several sheets to the counter to show roe. She went through our classes for us, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave us each a slip to have each teacher sign, which we were to bring back at the end of the day. She nodded at Bella and smiled at me and hoped, like Charlie and Bells, that I would like it here in Forks. It was hard, but I succeeded in smiling back a fake smile as convincingly as I could and managed pretty well since I was relieved to have every class with Bella. The only ones we didn't share was Gym and the French class I chose to take, but I didn't mind as much as I thought I would.

When I went back out to the truck, other students were starting to arrive. Bella drove around the school, following the line of traffic. From the corner of my eye, I could see that Bella was glad to see that most of the cars were older like hers, nothing flashy. The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out. Still, she cut the engine as soon as we were in a spot so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to us. I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully, I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to myself feebly. No one was going to bite me, hopefully.

I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck and waited patiently for Bella who stumbled her way, seconds later, to my side. I kept my face pulled back, hidden behind my long curtains of dark hair as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. From the corner of my eye, I could see Bella doing the same hiding just as well, her face pulled back into the hood of her jacket.

Once we got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square on the east corner. I felt my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as we approached the door. I tried holding my breath as we followed two unisex raincoats through the door. The classroom was small. The people in front of us stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I was going to copy them but decided against it, and Bella all but followed my lead.

They were two girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair. At least Bella's skin wouldn't be a standout here. I on the other hand... ugh, don't judge me if I get nervous. My godsister and I took the slips up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at Bella when he saw her name— not an encouraging response— and of course she flushed tomato red, but when the time came for him to see my name and then identify the person whom it belonged to, I instantly felt uncomfortable as he gave me the same look the red-haired lady had given me back at the front office.

The look they gave me... it's as if I dazzled them.

I was seriously starting to feel self-conscious, but at least I was rewarded by being sent to an empty desk at the back beside Bella without introducing either of us to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow, they managed. I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything thanks to my stepdad, and by the looks of it, Bella had too at her old school. That was comforting... and boring. I wondered if Renée would send her, her folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating. I went through the possible different sceneries of the both of them in my head while the teacher droned on.

When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to Bella. 

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type.

"Bella," she corrected.

Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at her then at me.

"Milarayne Williams?" he asked me.

"Just Mila," I corrected, feeling uncomfortable with the fact that he knew my name. Creepy much.

"Where's your next class?" he asked us. I had to check in my bag, but Bella beat me to it and answered.

"Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six." There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.

"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way..." Definitely over-helpful. "I'm Eric," he added.

Bella smiled tentatively. "Thanks."

We put on our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid.

"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.

"Very."

"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"

"Three or four times a year."

"Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.

"Sunny," she told him.

"You don't look very tan."

"My mother is part albino."

I snorted, watching as this Eric guy studied her face apprehensively, and she sighed in result. It looked like clouds, and a sense of humor didn't mix since I seemed to be the only to get her inside joke. We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym.

Eric walked us right to the door, though it was clearly marked. "Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounded hopeful.

I gave a small appreciative smile though instantly wiped it off my face as he stared at me the same way the first two weirdoes had vaguely and went inside. The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion.

My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made us stand in front of the class and introduce ourselves. Bella had stammered, blushed, and tripped over her own boots on the way to her seat, while I, on the other hand, merely spoke the most random shit ever, yet apparently, the class found it to be quite humorous, chuckling and giggling at everything I said.

"So, Milarayne, what can you tell us about yourself?" Mr. Varner had asked with an evident smirk on his wrinkled face.

I hid my face a bit behind the curtains of my long hair as practically the whole class was giving me the same dazzled looks.

"Um... well... er... hi. My... um... my name is Milarayne, though I go by Mila. I'm a girl, which is pretty much obvious. I breathe and am alive, as you can see. I'm seventeen years old, I am from Chicago, and I don't usually answer people's questions, so don't even think about it," I warned, mostly to the girls in class you could tell with one glance that they were the gossiping type, before heading back towards my seat beside Bella as the class went on. 

After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me and Bella questions about how we were liking Forks. I was honestly annoyed by this, though for Bella's sake I tried to4 be 'diplomatic' and mostly just lied a lot. At least I never needed the map.

One girl sat near us in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with us to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than Bella's five feet five inches, a lot shorter than my five feet seven inches— yes, I was  _that_  tall (note the sarcasm)— but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I  _occasionally_  smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up. We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at us from across the room.

It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to avoid conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them. I panicked. They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, of course, I knew why though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me or looking at me as if I dazzled them, unlike most of the other students, but it was only because they hadn't seen me which is something I was glad about so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes, but that's only Bella's opinion, and I had to fight the urge to slap her in the face in order for her to stop staring. But it was none of these things that caught, and somewhat held, my attention.

It was their eyes and the way they acted. They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big-muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students, so I was guessing they were probably  _changed_  in their early twenties or something.

The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. The short girl was pixie-like, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.

And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, obviously, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than Bella, the albino. They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes— purplish, bruise-like shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular. This was the first time I had actually examined one of them so closely. I never even studied  _him_  this much because he hated it when I tried to only out of curiosity.  _He_  didn't mind me starring, but when it came to studying him for what he was, he hated it.  

But all this is not why I couldn't look away.

I stared because their faces, though so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, beautifully...  _humane_. Yes, maybe they  _were_  faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel, but they somehow managed to look so... human, unlike  _them._  But despite their  _almost_  humane attitude, they were still enormously beautiful.

…. Gods, I want to throw up.

As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray— unopened soda, unbitten apple— and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. I watched, raising an eyebrow at her lithe dancer's step until she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than anyone would have thought possible. That is... anyone except me. My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchangingly.

"Who are they?" Bella asked the girl from our Spanish class, whose name I'd forgotten.

As she looked up to see who she meant— though already knowing, probably, from her tone— suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one— the youngest, perhaps. He looked at the girl for just a fraction of a second, then turned his gaze to Bella's for another fraction of a second before his dark eyes flickered to mine. I panicked and instantly looked away; I wasn't afraid of their kind, never have been and never will be, but I sure as Hades was afraid of what they can do to me. I mean sure, it's cool that my blood doesn't appeal to their digestive system when their intention is to drink it, but what they did to me...

I will  _never_  forget it.

Since I no longer felt his gaze upon me, I guessed he was probably looking at Bella again, but once I looked up, to my surprise, he had looked away quickly, more quickly than  _anyone_  could, though in a flush of embarrassment I could see Bella drop her eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest— it was as if the girl whom my godsister had asked the question to had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.

My neighbor giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like Bella did. "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife," she said under her breath.

I glanced sideways at the mysterious, beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them. Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here— small town names? I finally remembered that they weren't born from this time and also that my neighbor was called Jessica, a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in the institution I was put in back in Chicago.

"They are... very nice-looking." Bella struggled with the conspicuous understatement.

"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though— Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together."

Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in a big city like Chicago, it would cause gossip.

"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked, looking down at my trey, trying to avoid the shocked stares I was receiving. I probably just shouldn't talk in order to not shock anyone else with my voice ringing and shimmering like a damn bell.

"They don't look related..." Bella added.

"They're probably not," I muttered under my breath.

"No, they're not," Jessica agreed. "Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins— the blondes— and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children," Bella pointed out.

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that," Jessica replied.

"That's really kind of nice— for them to take care of all those kids like that when they're so young and everything," Bella said softly.

"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added as if that lessened their kindness. Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat as subtly as possible. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" Bella asked. Surely it was because she was sure she would have noticed them on one of her summers here.

"No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska." I snorted.

I then felt a surge of pity, and relief coming out of Bella, and I could guess why. Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that we weren't the only newcomers here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard.

As we subtly examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation.

"Which one is the boy with the reddish-brown hair?" Bella asked as if reading my mind.

I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at us, but not gawking like the other students had today— he had a slightly frustrated expression... like if he was constipated or something... I looked down again, swallowing hard and fighting the sudden urge to run away.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently, none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes.

I wondered when he'd turned her down. I bit my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too. After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful— even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at  _us_  again, he stopped, looked at me and held my gaze.

I was afraid once again, and frustrated. He looked at me with the same awed expression everyone has been giving me, and it's seriously irritating. I couldn't take it anymore as my heart beat as fast and as loud as a racing car— I ran out of the cafeteria.

I was running down the hall when I collided against something hard and fell backward, though I was caught by a pair of strong arms before I could even hit the ground.

"Are you alright?" said a concerned yet calm, deep, musical voice.

I looked up only to stare back at the most beautiful emerald green eyes I've ever seen. My breathing hitched as I took in his intoxicating scent— a scent that was nowhere near human.

"I-I'm fine," I managed to choke out as I straightened my position but swallowed hard as I noticed he wasn't letting go of me; his arms were still wrapped around my waist in a tight grip. 

"You're Milarayne Williams, aren't you?" he asked in a soft voice.

I nodded, pulling away and readjusting my shoulder bag on my shoulder. "Mila," I corrected. "And you are?"

He smiled the most dazzling smile that literally made my heart stop. "Mason Di Angelis."

"Um... right. Er... nice to meet you and thanks for catching me, but I've got to go, Jason. Bye," I said before running off, lastly hearing a faint 'I will see you soon, Mila. And it's Mason, not Jason.'

As I remembered where I was, I slowed down yet kept a fast pace because I was anxious not to be late for class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour. We walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too. As we approached the classroom, Angela went inside, and I was just about to follow behind her... that is until my god sister came running— mostly stumbling— towards me, panting like a crazed woman.

"Mila! Why did you run off? I was worried sick! What if you had—"

"I'm fine. It's just... he reminded me of... and I panicked. I'm sorry, Bells," I apologized, trying to reassure her.

She pursed her lips, studying my expression to see if I was not lying to the  _both_  of us when I said I was  _fine_. "Alright, but please don't do it again. I was freaking out back there when I saw you just... bolt out! Please promise," she pleaded.

I bit my lower lip seeing the other people staring at us. "I can't promise anything, but I'll try for you. Good enough?" I whispered.

She sighed in defeat. "I guess that's all I'll get, so yeah." We shared a small smile before entering the classroom.

When we entered the classroom, Angela was already seated at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones Andrew showed me in the movies when he'd come visit me at the institute. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but two, yet they were completely apart from each other. I cursed under my breathing as the feeling that Bella and I weren't going to sit together came to me. Next to the seat situated in the back of the classroom was one lone boy I recognized as one of the guys that were sitting with us earlier at Jessica's— now I remember her name— table. Next, to the center aisle, I groaned as I recognized Bronzy Cullen— I'm going to be calling him that since I'm pretty sure I won't be remembering his actual name— by his unusual hair, sitting next to that second and only open seat.

As we walked down the aisle to introduce ourselves to the teacher and get our slips signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. I was going to head to the seat in the back beside the guy whose name I still can't seem to remember, but then I felt bad for Bella who would have to suffer alongside the Edwin— I mean Edmund... Bronzy.

"Bella, do you want to sit with weirdo number one who's gawking at us from the back, or weirdo number two who seems to be missing a lot in the sanguinary part of his system?" I whispered her even though I was pretty sure she'd be told to sit beside him anyway.

She gulped. "Can you sit with number two? I think he... hates me," she whispered back, muttering the last part.

I rolled my eyes. "Bella, no one can hate you."

She looked down at her boots. "That's what she said," she muttered.

I sighed. "I'll tell Mr. Banner." She nodded in agreement.  

Just as we passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face— it was hostile yet confused, but when his gaze locked with Bella's for some reason, it was... furious. Bella and I both looked away quickly,

I was confused by his expression, and Bella shocked, going red again. She stumbled over a book in the walkway, and I had to catch her before she hit herself on the edge of a table. The girl sat there giggling.

I'd noticed that his eyes were black— coal black, which can only mean one thing... he hasn't hunted. Great!  _Note the sarcasm._  Mr. Banner signed our slips, agreed to the seat change for today, and handed us each a book with no nonsense about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, I had to go to the one open seat in the middle of the room while Bella took my original spot at the far end where no one can see me.

I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me. I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. Instead of trying to get farther away from me to control his thirst, he was leaning closer to me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something refreshing. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like vanilla and death, my natural scent. How would anyone even find it appealing? It wasn't an odor that seemed innocent enough like Bella who smelled like strawberries.

As if it would protect me, I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a, sadly, light curtain between us and tried to pay attention to the teacher. Unfortunately, the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already learned early thanks to Fred. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down. After I started to feel more uncomfortable than I already was, I looked up at him only to see that he was glaring at me.

I narrowed my eyes and felt some color pour into its irises. They're probably peregrine-ish or bloody orange by now considering the fact that I hated to be stared at or glared at for so long especially by a thirsty bloodsucking demon. Irritated, I put on my meanest glare that seems to have been scaring a lot of people since my first  _change_.

His eyes lightened a little and looked away as I kept glaring for a second before looking away as well only to see him scoot closer to me and tilt his head to me but still looking down why is he doing that. Ugh! Why in Tartarus is this happening to me?!

Anyway, creepy stuff followed the whole 'scooting closer to me' thing— Edwin's eyes brightened a little bit more they were blackish gold. Creepy much... what am I saying? I'm sitting next to a vampire! Of course, it's creepy. It's freakin' scary! He scooted closer to me that the side of his body was crushed against the side of my body and he inhaled my scent. Okay, seriously, what the Hades is wrong with this guy? Whatever was his problem, he had to stop now before I humiliated myself by losing control of my claustrophobic side and did something stupid. I tried to move away, but he held me there. Okay, really?! No one does that,  _especially_  not in a public place. We're in a school for Zeus' sake! And when the heck did he put an arm around me?!

"What are you doing?" I whisper to him though he didn't answer. He just inhaled my scent once more, and that's when I started hearing the voices,  _again_ , but this time, one stood out more than the others. A soft, velvety yet very masculine voice rang the most through my head.  

" _Mesmerizing. This girl is incredible! And her scent. It's appetizing yet not at the same time. Okay, that was confusing..._ " You're telling me! " _Her scent is making the burn in my throat go away, and it didn't smell bad either. It smells... mesmerizing._ " Ugh! Get new words! This isn't old England anymore, geez! " _It smells like cinnamon, apples and vanilla... and something else in which I can't quite put my finger on, but those four scents together... it's incredible! It doesn't make me want to attack her. It feels like I just hunted it helps Isabella's scent go away. God, how can someone smell so... good? She smells even better than Isabella's strawberry scent._ "

Suddenly I heard someone moan and I instantly stiffened, and my eyes grew as wide as a plasma screen TV. I looked around and saw that Bella was staring at us with wide eyes.

She mouthed, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," I mouthed back, panic rising up my spine.

I looked at Edward— oh, so now I remember his name— and panicked, even more, when I realized that he had his head on the crock of my neck. I started shaking in fear. I tried to push him away, but he held me tighter and rubbed his nose around my neck and inhaled it.

Oh. My. Gods!

I couldn't breathe, I was having a freakin' panic attack. I took deep breaths but immediately froze when he pulled me up to his lap and pushed his face more in my neck, he was ice cold, I started to shake harder, but he just held me even tighter and closer. I was stiff. I couldn't move— it felt like I was a statue and the teacher didn't even notice what Edward was doing to me. How could he not notice? This is freakin' physical... child abuse! I mean, I'm seventeen, and this is like what, a hundred?

"Would you please let me go," I hissed, but of course he shook his head.

I groaned. "Let. Me. Go." I growled, and that seemed to snap him out of his creepy abuser trance. He started murmuring apologies, but I simply gave him a death glare— which shut him up— sighed as the bell rang and sprang out of the class before anyone could even see me or get out, but half-way to my locker, I just remembered something very important.  _Someone_  very important. I freakin' forget Bella. I was about to turn around but let out a sigh of relief as I spotted Bella stumbling her way through the crowd towards me, panting again.

"What was that all about?" she asked me. 

I swallowed hard. "I don't know. H-he just grabbed me, a-and I-I didn't know what to do," I stammered freaked out.

"What do you think was his deal?" she asked. I shook my head. I couldn't say he was a vampire it was his secret, not mine and I got all in his head and found out this mind reading thing is annoying. I'd have to learn how to shut it off once in a while but not always. I hate it. It's like a million people in one room talking all at once, but it's their minds, and I can't concentrate on acting normal again if I have to keep listening what these people have up in their minds.

"How would I know? I'm not even the least interested in what his deal was since I won't be sitting next to him tomorrow," I said. She froze.

"Wha— but—I... Rae?" she whined, though when she said my name, it came out more like a question.

I held my hand to silence her and shook my head. "No buts, missy," I said before taking my schedule out to see what my next class was.

"So, you're Milarayne Williams, aren't you?" a male voice asked.

I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way.

"Mila," I corrected him, with a nod, not really feeling like I could smile anymore.

"I'm Mike."

"Hi, Mike."

"Do you need any help finding your next class?"

"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."

"That's my next class, too." He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.

I patted Bella on the arm before leaving her to go her own way. Mike and I walked to class together; he was a chatterer— he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today, other than Angela, of course.

But as we were entering the gym, he asked, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that." I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently, that wasn't Edward Cullen's usual behavior.

I decided to play dumb. "Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked artlessly.

"Yes," he said. "One second he looked like he was in pain or something, then the next thing you know he was all over you... and had a look on his face that made it look like if he wanted to eat you... but didn't want to at the same time."

I shrugged. "I don't know," I responded. "I never spoke to him."

"He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."

I smiled a half-hearted smile at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease my irritation.

The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform but didn't make me dress down for today's class. From what Fred used to tell me, in Chicago, only two years of RE were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. Forks was literally my personal hell on Earth.

We played volleyball today, and I can't deny that I was seriously surprised to see that I was pretty good at it.

The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself.

When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.

Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. I recognized that tousled bronze hair again. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.

He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time— any other time.

I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me, but then again, let's just hope it was about me. I wasn't ready to have another class with him anytime soon.

The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. I turned and noticed it was Bella and there was another girl behind her. Bella walked up next to me to let the stranger pass. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at Bella with piercing, hate-filled eyes, but when they turned to me, his whole expression just lost any emotion it'd previously held.

For an instant, I could feel a thrill of genuine fear, coming from Bella. I was also scared to my impossible death and felt the fear raising the hair on my arms. The look only lasted a second as it turned back into a glare as his eyes rested on Bella's figure, and even if that glare only lasted a second too, it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the receptionist.

"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help."

And he turned on his heel without another look at me and disappeared out the door. I handed my slip to Bella and stormed out after pale face. Eddie was barely a few feet away, so I took my chance, grabbed his arm, pulled him down the empty hallway and pushed him against a wall hearing a loud crack. I saw him flinch. Good.

"Okay, tell me what in Tartarus was that in biology," I demanded angrily.

He was thinking about what to say.

I growled lowly in frustration as his thoughts emerged into my head. " _Well damn. I didn't think that would happen... okay, maybe I did. I mean, I probably would be angry too, if someone did that to me... What do I tell her? God! It's hard to concentrate with her staring at me with those big beautiful silver eyes of hers. I wonder why they're silver... I've never seen anyone with silver eyes before..._ "

I cursed under my breath, sighed loudly and let go of him. "You know what? Never mind. Don't tell me," I said before turning on my heels, getting ready to leave. I felt a hand on my shoulder holding me back, but I instantly yanked away from the contact.

He sighed loudly as well. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that in biology. I just...." he trailed off. 

"Again, it's fine, besides if you wanted to cuddle you could have asked," I replied sarcastically.

He smiled a dazzling crooked smile which probably would've made me drool over him, that is  _if_  I didn't know what he is. Apparently, Bella, Charlie, and the whole darn school aren't the only ones to love my sarcasm.

"Fine, I'll make sure to ask you  _next_  time," he replied with the same tone of sarcasm.  

I raised an eyebrow at him. " _Next_  time? Yeah, that ain't gonna happen, bucko," I said, shaking my head before walking off quickly.

As soon as I walked out the door, a lot of eyes landed on me as the air blew my hair away from my face. Ignoring the looks I was receiving, coming to a short halt when my gaze locked with seemingly innocent dark green eyes. I stared for a moment, not sure how long, but as soon as I tore my gaze away and trailed my silver-colored eyes over this strange figure, I felt my curiosity reach a new level as I felt a sort of gravitational pull toward this stranger. I didn't like this feeling, especially if its aimed toward a suspicious-looking in an oversized trenchcoat. Then again, I wasn't any better with my dark-colored clothes and my  _very_ old, oversized denim jacket— even  _I_ don't trust myself. Shaking myself out of this momentary stupor, I let my skepticism morph my face into a frown, which only deepened upon seeing the resulting smile on the kid's face; he didn't look so innocent anymore.

With a deep breath, I forced myself in the direction I had previously been heading toward, slowing down my pace as soon as I reached the truck, where Bella was impatiently drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, even still when I jumped in and settled in the passenger seat.

"What took you so long?" she asked worriedly.

I groaned at the memory of my earlier encounter with Dracula, then felt my gaze slowly trail back to the strange boy I was looking at before. He was still there, still smiling in my direction, leaning against a very nice-looking motorcycle— if I didn't feel so weird about him, I may have let myself drool over his ride. It took me a moment to realize he was smoking— gee, how old is he? Fifteen? He couldn't be much younger than me, and already he was smoking?

I swear, some people...

"Walking dead happened," I replied to Bella's question, my voice but a simple mutter as I dropped my gaze to the plastic designed head of Medusa imprinted on the smallest bag of my backpack, shuddering slightly at the feeling of her staring back at me.

Shaking my head to myself and my delirium, I just turned and gave Bella an exasperated look upon finding her already looking back at me with a raised brow.

"Let's just go. Please," I told her.

She nodded, and we headed  _home_. To my refuge...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N. I know how Mila's name would typically be pronounced by its spelling, but its actual intended pronunciation is My-la-rain; just didn't want to spell it with more complexity than it already was— it's hard to come up with names that don't even exist.
> 
> Fun fact, her name was actually just going to be Rayne, but I was infatuated with the name Miyla. Yup, if I remember correctly (which I probably don't) I was having a conversation with my brother about some famous people and at some point, we were talking about Miley Cyrus and Mila Kunis. We were having a debate and he was going to google one of them, but ended misspelling it, resulting in Miyla. The pronunciation of that exact name caught my attention and naming my character just Rayne felt too… mainstream, or, I guess, too predictable. So, I just went ahead and combined them, but I felt it looked a bit weird upon combining the two names as so, so I respelled it. The final spelling doesn't exactly follow the pronunciation I sought, but… what name does?


	3. Book cover

The next day was better... and worse.

It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque. It was easier because I knew what to expect from my day. Mike came to sit by me in English, and walked Bella and I to our next class, with Chess Club Eric glaring at him all the while; that was nattering. People didn't look at Bella quite as much as they had yesterday and I was extremely happy for her, but in my case, I couldn't say I was exactly thrilled.

I sat with a big group at lunch that included Bella— of course, I'd never go anywhere without her— Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose faces I could vaguely recognize from the previous day, but names I just didn't really care to remember. Overall, though, I still felt a little bit better; I began to feel like I was treading water, instead of drowning in it.

It was worse because I was tired; I still couldn't sleep with my whole life flashing in and out of my head like a messed up record-player, and the wind echoing around the house. It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I had the wrong answer.

And it was only like heaven to me because Edwin… the bronze haired Cullen wasn't in school at all.

All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of me wanted to confront him or at least get to humiliate him in front of the whole school, but, then again, Bella wouldn't let me. But when I walked into the cafeteria with Bella and Jessica, I instantly tensed up as I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table.

The only thing that really cheered me up was the fact that he wasn't there, though I felt bad as I could see Bella's disappointment. Mike intercepted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed entirely elated by the attention, and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting nervously for the moment he would arrive. I hoped that he would simply ignore me when he came, and prove my suspicions of a possible good brother-in-law false.

He didn't come, and as time passed, I grew tenser.

I walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he still hadn't shown. I internally grinned at myself as I walked over to the seat next to Mike, who seemed to be taking on the qualities of a golden retriever. Mike smiled and started talking about an upcoming trip to the beach. He lingered by my desk till the bell rang. It looked like I was going to have to do something about Mike, and it wouldn't be easy. In a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, diplomacy was essential. I had never been enormously tactful; I had no practice dealing with overly friendly boys... or friends at all, for that matter.

When the school day was finally done, [I tied my hair up on the side and changed quickly back into my blue jeans and grey sweatshirt, pulling my old denim jacket over my shoulders](https://urstyle.com/styles/1751160). I hurried from the girls' locker room, pleased to find that I had successfully evaded my retriever friend for the moment and found Bella there waiting patiently for me.

We walked swiftly out to the parking lot, linking our arms together. It was crowded now with fleeing students. I got in the passenger side a little after Bella had settled in the driver's seat and was now digging through her bag to make sure she had what she needed.

Last night we had discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon. So she requested that she'd be assigned kitchen detail for the duration of our stay and I'd help out. He was willing enough to hand over the keys to the banquet hall. We also found out that he had no food in the house. So we had made a shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled FOOD MONEY, and we were on our way to the Thriftway.

Bella gunned her deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in our direction, and backed carefully into a place in the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. As we waited, trying to pretend that the earsplitting rumble was coming from someone else's car, I saw the two Cullens and the Hale 'twins' getting into their car.

It was the shiny new Volvo. Of course.

I hadn't noticed their clothes before— I'd been too busy trying to avoid even looking at the 'family.' Now that I _actually_ paid attention, it was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins. With their remarkable good looks, the style with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrags and pulled it off. It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money. But as far as I could tell, life worked that way most of the time. It didn't look as if it bought them any acceptance here. No, I didn't believe that.

The isolation must be their desire; that was all I had in common with these demons.

They looked at Bella's noisy truck as we passed them, just like everyone else. I kept my eyes straight forward and was relieved when we finally were free of the school grounds.

The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt unfamiliarly normal. I never did any shopping at 'home,' so the pattern was a really unfamiliar task for me. The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was.

When we got home, Bella and I unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever we could find an open space. I hoped Charlie wouldn't mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, then helped Bella cover a steak in marinade and balance it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge.

When we were finished with that, Bella and I took our book bags upstairs. Before starting our homework, [I changed into a pair of dry sweats, pulled my damp hair back up into a pony-tail](https://urstyle.com/styles/1752171), and checked my e-mail for the first time. I had three messages.

" **Mila** ," my stepdad wrote...

 **Write to** **me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already. Your little brother and sister say hi. Fred.**

I sighed and went to the next. It was sent eight hours after the first, from Andrew.

" **Miles** ," he wrote...

**Why haven't you e-mailed me yet? You promised, remember? What are you waiting for?**

**Your little brother, Andrew.**

The last was from this morning, from my stepdad again.

**Milarayne,**

**If I haven't heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today I'm calling Charlie.**

I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but Fred was well known for jumping the gun.

**Freddie,**

**Calm down. I'm writing right now. Don't do anything rash.**

**Mila.**  

I sent that and began again.

**Freddie, Andrew, and Lilly (if you're there),**

**Everything is great. Of course, it's raining. I was waiting for something to write about. School isn't bad, just a little overcrowded for my taste and there's too much gossip flying around; it's seriously irritating, though I met some nice kids who sit by me at lunch along with Bella. Charlie bought her a truck, and I go around in it with her, can you believe it? I love it. It's old, but really sturdy, which is good, you know, for me. I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my e-mail every five minutes. Relax, breathe. I love you.**

**Mila.**

I had decided to read  _Wuthering Heights_ — the novel we were currently studying in English— yet again for the fun of it.

"Miles?" Bella called from downstairs.

"Yeah?"

"Charlie's almost here, come down. Dinner's almost ready," she said.

"Okay!" I replied, setting my book on my desk before heading out the door just as Charlie got in.

"Miles?" Charlie called out when he heard me on the stairs.

 _Who else? Bella's already in the kitchen_ , I thought to myself.

"Hey, Uncle Lee-lee, welcome home."

"Thanks." He hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as I sat down. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun on the job. But he kept it ready. Bella told me that when she came here as a child, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I guess he considered her old enough now not to shoot herself by accident, and me not depressed enough to shoot myself on purpose.

"What's for dinner?" he asked warily. I tilted my head to the side, curiously.

"Steak and potatoes," she answered, and he looked relieved.

He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to watch TV while Bella worked. We were all three more comfortable that way. I helped Bella make a salad while the steaks cooked, and set the table.

I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room.

"Smells good, Bell."

"Thanks."

We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of us was bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together.

"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked as he was taking seconds.

"Well, we have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. Rae and I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice." With one outstanding exception.

"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid— nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here."

"Do you know the Cullen family?" she asked hesitantly.

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."

"They... the kids... are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school," I said.

Charlie surprised me by looking angry.

"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him— lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature— I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should— camping trips every other weekend... Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."

It was the first  _and_  longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying.

"They seemed nice enough to me. It's just not hard to miss the way they keep to themselves. They're all very attractive," Bella added, trying to be more complimentary.

"You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."

We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I finished washing the dishes by hand— no dishwasher— I went upstairs to, unwillingly, work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making.

That night it was finally quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted.

The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not by name, but almost all the students at school from my year. In Gym, the kids on my team literally bragged about my— in my opinion, non-existent— 'skills' and tried to make sure that I always got to hit so we could win. I somewhat happily stayed put and did what I had to do.

Bronze-haired Cullen didn't come back to school... and I'm not going to lie— I was ecstatic about it. I couldn't say the same thing about Bella, though, and that always made me tense up. I really wasn't looking forward to meeting Bronzy again.

Every day, I tried to find Mason Di Angelis and try to get to know him better since I knew he wasn't human, but every time he came up to me, he ended up flirting with me, and that freaked the hell out of me, so I always ended up running off in the middle of our three-sentenced conversations.

I also watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens entered the cafeteria without Bronzy. Then I could relax and try to look interested in the lunchtime conversation. Mostly it centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in two weeks that Mike was putting together. I was invited, and I had agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire... and because Bella begged me to go. Beaches should be hot and dry.

By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no longer worried that Bronzy would be there. For all I knew, he had dropped out of school, or so I hoped. I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't totally suppress the worry that he might turn up one day, out of the blue and do the same thing he did last time to me.

My first weekend in Forks passed without incident. Charlie, unused to spending time in the usually empty house, worked most of the weekend. Bella and I cleaned the house, got ahead on our homework, and I wrote to my stepdad and Andrew more bogusly cheerful e-mails.

I had Bella start teaching me how to drive, practicing by journeying to the library on Saturday, but it was more poorly stocked than my driving skills that I didn't even bother getting a card; I would have to note down a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. I wondered idly what kind of gas mileage Bella's truck got... and shuddered at the thought.

The rain stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so I was able to sleep well.

People greeted us in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and tried to smile at everyone... it always ended up as a crooked smile, according to Bella. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining.

In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on _Wuthering Heights_. It was straightforward, very easy.

All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I had ever expected to feel here. When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose.

"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."

I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.

"Ew," Bella groaned as I simultaneously said, "Ah, man!" Snow. There goes my good day.

Mike looked surprised. "You guys don't like snow?"

"No. That means it's too cold for rain," I replied bluntly. Obviously.

"Besides," Bella added. "I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes— you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

I snorted.

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.

"Sure we have," she paused, looking at me.

I shrugged as we said at the same time, "On TV."

Before I was nine and all shit went down for me, my family used to spend winters up in Los Angeles. I don't really remember why or who we used to go visit, but it never snowed when we would be there, and after I got locked up, I was… just that. Locked up. I never got to go out except for the space behind the building they dubbed the backyard, which they would only let us wander around in springs and summers. The moment leaves would begin to fall, we were back inside, with no permission to come out.

Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head. The three of us turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us— in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.

"We'll see you at lunch, okay?" I kept walking as I spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, we go inside," I added, grabbing Bella's arm and hauling her away from the chaos.

He just nodded his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.

We walked in silence before Bella finally spoke up. "So."

"So?" I asked.

She looked around before turning to me again. "What are your theories?" Bella asked in a whisper. "You got a hunch?"

"My hunch keeps on telling me to stay away from the Cullens, Bella, and my theories involve crosses and stakes," I replied, then bit my lip hard.

I cursed myself in my head for telling her that; she's not supposed to know this stuff, at least not unless she figures it out on her own. It's dangerous, just sputtering this shit to people. Especially people who could literally die from their own clumsiness.

Bella looked at me for a moment then ten seconds later, I began to laugh, a bit nervously, but it was all I can do to ease up the tension though it felt weird doing so.

"You just imagined Edward as Buffy, didn't you?" Bella asked catching her breath.

"With the blond hair, leather and mood swings!" I continued to laugh. "But no, he would never pull off being Buffy. She's too tiny and pretty. He's too… tall, pale and… Bronzy."

Bella laughed. "That makes no sense."

"Our existence makes no sense."

Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently, it was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth shut... and Bella did the same. Sure, it was drier than rain— until it melted in your socks.

I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Bella and Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. Bella and I acted much like twins as we kept a binder in our hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. Jessica thought we were hilarious, but something in our expression, especially mine kept her from lobbing a snowball at us herself.

Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. There were five people at the table.

Oh, for fuck's sake!

Jessica and Bella pulled on my arm.

"Hello? Mila? What do you want?"

I looked down; my ears were hot. I had no reason to feel self-conscious, I reminded myself. I hadn't done anything wrong.

"What's with Mila?" Mike asked Bella.

"Nothing," I answered. "I-I'll just get a soda today." I caught up to the end of the line.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked as Bella looked at me worriedly.

"Actually, I feel a little sick," I said, my eyes still on the floor.

I waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet. I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with unnecessary concern, how I was feeling. I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I should play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour.

Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away.

I decided to permit myself one glance at the Cullen family's table. If he was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was. I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were looking this way. I lifted my head a little.

They were laughing. Bronzy, Paranoia, and Brother Bear all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Tinker Bell and Barbie were leaning away as Brother Bear shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else— only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us that I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I closed my eyes and ignored everything around.  

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded. I opened my eyes and followed Bella's stare. I rolled my eyes when I saw she was staring at Bronzy boy.

[I rolled my eyes and dropped my head, letting my hair fall to conceal my face](https://urstyle.com/styles/1752274). I didn't want him to go looking at me, next.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled. 

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" Bella asked.

"No," Jessica said, sounding confused by my question. "Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me," Bella confided. I shook my head and sighed. I still felt queasy. I put my head down on my arm.

"The Cullens don't like anybody... well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you. Both of you. It's weird."

"Bella..." I started, unable to think of anything else to say; I felt like I was suffocating in this limelight.

His gaze felt like a bulldozer ready to shove us out of the way and yet run over us as many times needed so that we didn't go anywhere. Huh. What a weird comparison I just came up with…

"Stop looking at him," Bella hissed at Jessica.

Jessica snickered, but she looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure that she did, contemplating violence if she resisted.

For the rest of the lunch hour, I very carefully kept my eyes on my own table. My stomach did frightened little flips at the thought of probably having to sit next to him again because of Bella's cowardness.

I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual— he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers— but when we went to the door, everyone besides Bella and I groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. I pulled the hood of my sweater up and calmly adjusted the collar of my denim jacket, secretly pleased. I would be free to go straight home after Gym.

Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four.

Once inside the classroom, I groaned as Bella unfairly used her puppy dog eyes at me and begged me to keep the seat arrangement we had agreed on last class. I relented and felt a, slightly, bit relieved when I saw that the table I'd be sitting at was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, scrawling some random verses in my notebook.

I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved, but my eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern I was writing and tensing up.

"Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.

I think I might've been too tense since, after a certain point, my pencil broke. My breathing hitched, I looked up and pretended to be stunned at the fact that he was speaking to me. Much to my relief, he was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled— even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. He was smiling at me, though his eyes were careful.

"My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Mila Williams."

"You know my name," I stated bluntly, resisting the urge to add a little sarcasm in it.

He laughed a soft, 'enchanting' laugh.

"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive as well as your friend over there." Yeah, the friend you've been glaring at since our first day.

I grimaced. "No," I persisted stupidly. "I meant, why did you call me Mila?"

He seemed confused. "Do you prefer Milarayne?"

"No, I prefer Mila," I said. "But I think Charlie must call me Milarayne behind my back— that's what everyone here seems to know me as."

"Oh." He let it drop.

I looked away awkwardly. Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right.

"Get started," he commanded.

"Ladies first, partner?" Bronzy asked.

I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I would've probably fallen for him... if I didn't know what he was and if my life had been normal. Gods, I just want dye that bronzy hair pink— what a weird train of thoughts I seem to be having today…

I rolled my eyes. "Sure thing, cowboy," I muttered, knowing well enough he was able to hear me perfectly.

"Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent and obviously trying to read my mind.

"No," I said. "I'll go ahead."

I studied the slide briefly. My assessment was confident. "Prophase."

"Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide.

His hand caught mine, to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it brought back the old heartache of the past betrayal.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.

"Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily.

"Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.

I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?"

He smirked and pushed the microscope to me.

I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right.

"Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him.

He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again.

I took the most fleeting look I could manage.

"Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. I didn't want to spoil the page with my messy handwriting.

We were finished before anyone else was close. I could see Mike and Bella comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table.

Which left me with nothing to do but try to not look at him... unsuccessfully. I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration yet soft curiosity in his eyes. Suddenly I identified that subtle difference in his face.

He hunted.

"What?" a voice said. I looked up, puzzled. Have I been thinking out loud?

"Yes, you have," the voice replied. 

My eyes widened as I felt the blood drain from my face. Dang it! I really got to stop doing that. Stupid institution.

"Institution?"

I looked around and realized, to my great horror, that Bronzy was the one listening to me and replying.

"Nothing," I mumble, looking down at my hands and clenching them into hard fists.

Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.

"So, Edward, didn't you think Milarayne should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Mila," Bronzy corrected automatically. "Actually, she identified three of the five."

I narrowed my eyes at him; what exactly was he trying to accomplish with these little gestures; I was not gonna like him in any way no matter what he tried.

Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical.

"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.

I forced a smile, feeling slightly sheepish. "Not with onion root."

"Whitefish blastula?"

"Yup."

Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Chicago like Isabella?" 

"Bella," I corrected. "Home-schooled, but… erm… yeah." 

"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away. After he left, I began writing in my notebook again.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Bronzy asked.

I sent him a sideways glance, narrowing my eyes as I scrutinized him; I had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with me. Paranoia swept over me again. I hated knowing the fact that he had heard Bella and my conversation with Jessica at lunch and was trying to prove me wrong.

"Not really," I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else.

"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.

"Or the wet." Or anything really, but you don't see me trying to make small-talk to point that out to everyone.

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," he mused.

"Not really. I'm... used to it," I muttered darkly.

He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine. His face was such an irritating distraction that I tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded.

"Why did you come here, then?" No one had asked me that— not straight out like he did, demanding.

"It's... complicated."

"I think I can keep up," he pressed.

I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused me— how is it that they had golden eyes while the...  _others_  didn't?

I hesitated then answered in a whisper. "You wouldn't understand."

"Family crises?" he guessed.

I nodded. "Something like that," I replied with a shrug.

"Why don't you just give me the... public version," he suggested.

Great! So he knows there's a fake version. Just, great! Note the sarcasm.

I felt the blood drain from my face. "My... stepdad travels a lot," I spoke bluntly.

"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him," he said it as an assumption again, not a question.

My chin raised a fraction. "That was the deal," I muttered.

His eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand," he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact.

I sighed. Why was I explaining this to him? He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity.

"My life is bloody complicated. I woke up one day and bada-bing, bada-boom— shit went down. Claire— my  _mother_ decided there wasn't enough space, so a deal was made and I was on my way to my godfather Charlie's to spend some 'quality time' with him and Bella," I replied, getting really annoyed.

"But now you're unhappy," he pointed out.

"What's it to you?" I challenged.

"That just… that doesn't seem fair." He shrugged, but his eyes were still intense.

I laughed humorlessly. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair."

"I believe I  _have_  heard that somewhere before," he agreed dryly.

"I bet you have," I muttered under my breath. "So that's all," I insisted, wondering why he was still staring at me that way.

His gaze became appraising. "You put on a good show," he said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."

I grimaced at him, resisting the impulse to stick out my tongue like a five-year-old, and looked away.

"Am I wrong?"

I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore him.

"I didn't think so," he murmured smugly.

"Why does it matter to you?" I repeated, irritated. I kept my eyes away, watching the teacher make his rounds.

"That's a very good question," he muttered, so quietly that I wondered if he was talking to himself. However, after a few seconds of silence, I decided that was the only answer I was going to get.

I sighed, scowling at the blackboard.

"Am I annoying you?" he asked. He sounded amused.

"Yes," I retorted. I glanced at him without thinking, I added, "Okay, not exactly... well, I really don't know. Okay, now I'm annoying myself. I know people hate it when they're so easy to read, but sometimes I think it's better. People never know what I think because, according to my little sister, I have a dead face— my stepdad calls me his book cover."

I frowned, eyes widening slightly in horror— I was not supposed to give away that I have siblings!

"I agree with them. I find you very difficult to read." Despite everything that I'd said and he'd guessed, he sounded like he meant it.

"You must be a good reader then," I stated bluntly, knowing the truth all too well.

"Usually." He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultra white teeth.

"Do you hate my godsister?" He didn't answer, only frowned. I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Fine. Be mystery boy," I muttered, causing him to smile again.

Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and I turned with relief to listen. I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what I had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But my thoughts were unmanageable. When the bell finally rang, Bronzy rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room, leaving me there to roll my eyes as I waited for Bella.

Bella joined me, and Mike skipped quickly to our side and picked up my books for me. I imagined him with a wagging tail.

"That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."

"I didn't have any trouble with it," Bella said as I nodded in agreement.

"We've done the lab before, though," I added before he could get his feelings hurt.

"Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as we shrugged into our raincoats. He didn't seem pleased about it.

I tried to sound indifferent. "I wonder what was with him last Monday."

I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym and RE. Didn't do much to hold my attention, either. Mike was on my team today.

The rain was just a mist as Bella and I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. Bella got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood of my sweater down, and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.

I looked around me to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the still, white figure. Eduardo Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from us, and staring intently in our direction.

I swiftly looked away only to lock gazes with the beautiful emerald green eyes I have been trying to avoid seeing as Bella threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in her haste. Lucky for the Toyota, Bella stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car that this truck would make scrap metal of.

I took a deep breath and looked down at the plastic designed head of Medusa imprinted on the smallest bag of my backpack, blinking slightly in discomfort as it almost felt like she stared back at me and winked, the snakes almost appearing to dance around her head. I snapped out of my daze and shifted my gaze to the heater as Bella cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I finally dared myself to look up anew and stared straight ahead as we passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, I could swear I saw him laughing.

Stupid Bronzy and his barbie-doll crew.


	4. Foreseeing

I was walking down the hall at school lost in thought when I ran into something hard. I looked up and felt the blood drain from my face.

I had to react. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention," I apologized, stepped away. She just looked at me weirdly.

"It's fine. You're Mila, right?" she asked me, though I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes since I knew that she already knew that.

"Yeah. You must be, Alice," I said coolly.

She continued to stare at me.

"Well! I best be off!" I exclaimed myself, starting to walk away, but then stopped when I felt something cold wrap around my wrist. I looked down to see her tiny hand.

"Our French class is combined today. Would you like to walk with me?" She asked giving me a soft smile.

"You know I have French," I muttered before putting on a fake smile on my face; there were too many people around to go berserk at the fact that a vampire was holding me.

"Yeah, sure," I said.

With that, she dragged me down the corridor. When we made it to her French class, I saw Blondie number one sitting in a corner with Blondie number two. They both looked up when we entered the class. This class had its tables moved around in a way that a group of four sat on each assembled spot. I was about to sit on the other side if the room when I felt Alice's hand.

"What are you doing?" she said sounding hurt.

"Going to sit," I said; obviously.

"Why don't you sit with us, today?" she asked... well pretty much demanded.

"I-I... well—"

Just then, the classroom started filling up with students. I groaned. "Fine." With that, she dragged me to the table her 'siblings' we residing at.

"What's she doing here, Alice?" Barbie demanded.

"Sitting, of course," Alice replied.

I looked over at Jasper to see him studying me. In all honesty, he looked like he was in pain. I'm guessing he was new to their diet or something. I decided to ignore them. Sure, it's kind of rude, but come on! They're freakin' vamps! Since we didn't seem to be doing anything today, I pulled out my notebook and pencil to write. I closed my eyes for a second then opened them, but only to stare at nothing but black as I felt my hand move across the page starting Zeus knows what. I knew for sure that I wasn't exactly writing words. I wasn't doodling either; the curves were too precise for that.

What in Hades is going on?!

It seemed like I had been doing whatever I had been doing for a long time.

"What are you drawing?" I heard Alice suddenly ask.

Startled, I looked up to see them all staring at the picture. I saw Alice with a scrunched up face. I looked down, and a chill ran down my spine.

I had drawn a little girl— around nine years old— lost in a forest. The view was from the front of her body, though her head was turned backward. Where the face should have been, there was the back of the head. She was confronting a seventeen-year-old boy.

As I recognized the stone hanging around her neck and the charm bracelet hanging from her wrist, I knew exactly who that little girl was.

"Shit," I whispered, my hand shot up to my mouth covering it. The bracelet jingled as if taunting me. Why was I drawing this?

"Mila... who is that?" Alice asked worriedly. "And what were those other drawings you were drawing just before you turned to that page and drew that?"

I looked up at her in shock then quickly shook my head, slamming the notebook shut. I was going to put it in my bag when Rosalie snatched the notebook from me. She began flipping through the drawings. She looked at me for the first time. A worried expression crossed her face before she wiped all emotion clean.

"It's you, isn't it?" Rosalie asked me. I tried to snatch my notebook back, but she held it away from me.

"Please..." I whispered.

"I want you to tell me if it was you," Rosalie said with a hard look.

I groaned. "So what if it were me? It's none of your business, anyway," I snapped, finally snatching my notebook back. I got up and rushed out of the classroom, without looking back.

We had governments class, and I felt bad for worrying Bella; I had been too distracted lately.

As the bell rand and Mr. Jefferson started the class, my vision became blurry then there was nothing but black.

I blinked many times, but the result never changed, so I gave up and let my eyes close. After a few minutes, I heard a screeching sound, like bad tires on ice. I opened my eyes, and that's when I went under a state of shock.

I was no longer in the classroom, I was now outside. The ground was covered in ice. I looked up and saw a car coming my way. I froze in my spot as I saw the car swerve on the ice. The tires screeched, and I heard people scream.

"No!" I jumped up and yelled in class as the bell rung signaling the end of the period. Bella grabbed my arm and dragged me into the lunch room asking me if I was alright and all that scum to which I had to reassure her.

As soon as I sat down, I felt pairs of eyes bore at the back or my head. Irritated, I got up and told Bella I was headed for the washroom.

"Okay. I'll save you a seat," she said smiling.

I nodded and made my way to the door to get to the hall. The quickest way was to go past the Cullen's. Just my luck. As I got closer to them, Bronzy and his family looked up at me. They all gave me weird looks, but then looked away when I glared at them.

After calming down, I came back for lunch. I made sure not to look at the Cullen's. I was distracted all through lunch, thinking about the vision I had had earlier. I could tell Bella was distracted too, considering Bronzy was back. When the bell rang for the end of lunch. I walked behind Bella and Mike. When they walked into the class. I turned and walked away. I didn't feel like doing Biology. I headed for the truck and got inside. I sighed and pulled out my drawing book. I stared at the drawings, at me... at my past.

I skipped Biology and ended up falling asleep in the truck. It wasn't until I heard the truck door slam open that I saw Bella get it in with a worried expression on her face. I smiled apologetically.

"Have you been in here all this time?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah... I meant to go to Spanish but... I fell asleep," I admitted.

"Rae, you had me worried sick! Why didn't you go to class anyway?" she demanded.  

"I wasn't feeling good," I lied.

"You could have at least told me where you were today!" she said getting into the car.

I looked at her and rolled my eyes. "Sorry. Can we just go, now?"

"Don't do that," Bella said shaking her head as the engine roared to life and she pulled out of the parking lot. "Don't shut me out. I know you're not telling me everything, Rae, and I told you, that you could talk to me about anything."

I sighed and looked out the window. As soon as we got home, I went straight to bed, not looking back. I did everything I could to empty up my mind so I could sleep better tonight.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, something was different.

It was the light. It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window. I jumped up to look outside and then groaned in horror.

A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of my truck, and whitened the road. But that wasn't the worst part. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid— coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick. I had enough trouble not falling down when the ground was dry; it might be safer for me to go back to bed now. I froze when I saw that the road was covered in ice.

Today was the day.

I made myself calm down, I didn't want Bella to get suspicious.

We got ready for school, and I told Bella I wanted to get there early. I didn't know when it would occur, but maybe I could prevent it from happening. We pulled into the parking lot, and I was practically jumping in my seat to get out.

"Rae, you're acting weird," Bella said while parking the car.

I looked at her and gave a tight smile. "No, I'm not. I'm just being myself," I lied. Though I knew full on well that I was wrong.

Bella rolled her eyes and got out of the car slowly. I sighed and moved to her side of the truck grabbing her arm.

"Come on, let's go!" I said, practically dragging her.

"Wait, Rae! Look at the truck." She moved away from me and bent down to look at some snow chains. 

"Yeah, it's a pretty car, Bella. Now, come on, please!" I said urgently.

Bella turned to look at me and give me a suspicious look. "Mila, what's going on? You've been acting strange all morning."

Bella stood and crossed her arms. I reached out to drag her to the school.

"Please, Bella. Just. Come. On!" I urged.

Just then, I heard that odd familiar sound.

It was that high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up, panicked.

I saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once.

But of more immediate importance was the dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of Bella's truck, and we were standing between them.

"No," I whispered in horror as I watched my vision play out in front of me.

I didn't even take time to blink my eyes or think.

I pushed Bella away from me and the truck just as I saw a flash of bronze fly past me. The sudden movement startled me, and I slipped just as the car came slamming into my side. The impact threw me a few feet away from where I had been standing. I felt myself hit the ground, head first and then I heard a very loud crack. I couldn't see or feel anything, but I could hear screams. For a second, I thought... and hoped I was dead, but then I felt the feeling in my body slowly come back to me. I tried opening my eyes but they wouldn't I felt something moving on my back. It was then I remembered the vision. I had twisted and broken my spine.

"Mila! Mila, where are you?" I heard Bella call worriedly.

I heard a clicking sound, and then I tried to open my eyes. Once I did, I saw I was laying alone hidden by the van and another car. Nobody had seen what had happened. When I finally moved, I stupidly bolt upright into a sitting position. I instantly fell back down.

"Holly shit, that hurts!" I gasped.

"Mila? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." My voice sounded strange. I tried to sit up, again, but I no longer could.

"Be careful," a male voice warned as I struggled. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."

I became aware of a throbbing ache centered at the back of my head along with the rest of my body.

"No shit, Sherlock," I snapped through my clenched teeth.

"That's what I thought." His voice, amazingly, sounded like he was suppressing laughter. I wanted to punch him in the face so badly, but my eyes were closing.  I could feel drowsiness trickling through my system almost immediately.

"Don't move," someone instructed.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.

"Just stay put for now," Bronzy said, caressing my cheek.

"But it's cold," I complained childishly. It surprised me when he chuckled under his breath. "I seriously want to punch you right now," was the last thing I said before completely blacking out. That was when I realized something... entirely new.

I had just foreseen an accident and lived through it.


	5. Watch out

My eyes opened to a bright, white light. I was in an unfamiliar room, a white room. The wall beside me was covered in long vertical blinds; over my head, the glaring lights blinded me. I was propped up on a hard, uneven bed— a bed with rails. The pillows were flat and lumpy. There was an annoying beeping sound somewhere close by. I was still alive... I mean, death shouldn't be this uncomfortable.

My hands were all twisted up with clear tubes, and something was taped across my face, under my nose. I lifted my hand to rip it off.

"No, you don't." And cool fingers caught my hand.

"Eds?" I turned my head slightly, and his face was just inches from mine, his chin resting on the edge of my pillow, a disapproving expression clouding his features.

"What were you thinking? Were you trying to get yourself killed?" he demanded in a hushed tone.

"What would you care?" I retorted darkly. He sighed as I rolled my eyes. "What happened? Where's Bella? When can I get out? Can I leave n—" I was cut off as he cupped my face between his big, pale, cold hands. His face was now centimeters from mine, his cold breath brushing against my lips.

"Firstly, you ask too many questions. Second, Bella's coming. Third, I think you'll be here for a while—"

"No! I can't. I—"

I froze as my vision went blank before the little demons I hadn't seen in a while appeared.

_"Come... come_ _prinkípissa_ _... Let us rip you... Let us tear you... kill, kill kill! Let us kill... you can die..."_

_"Wait! No, you can't! You will suffer eternally!"_

They laughed as I clutched my head and started shaking out of panic. "No!" I shouted. "Go aw—"

_"... rip... tear... kill..."_

"No!"

_"... sooo hungry... want blood..."_

_"Guess those bloodsuckers will have yours..."_

"No! Leave me a—"

_"... kill... time to kill..."_

"NO!"

I bolt upright, hearing the beeping of the machine accelerate.

"Welcome back, Mila," I heard his voice say for the first time.

I glared and ignored him. Vampire or not, I didn't care. He's a creeper and a jerk— a blood-drinking douche. I turned to see Bella look up at me with red eyes; she had been crying. I reached out for her hand, and she took mine immediately.

"Mila... I thought..." she started.

"I'm fine, Bells. You don't have to worry," I said, squeezing her hand.

"I'll get my father to come check up on her," Bronzy told Bella.

"Yeah, I'm right here, Bronzy!" I called after him as he left chuckling softly, an edge of nervousness audible in his voice.

When Bronzy was out of the room, Bella fell to her knees and came close to me.

"What do you remember?" she whispered urgently.

I could tell from her eyes that she knew something now. I thought about it.

"I remember pushing you out of the way. I saw a flash of something bronze, and I slipped, then the car hit me and threw me back," I said, looking up into her chocolate brown eyes.

"You saw him too..." she said, smiling to herself. "He said he was standing next to us the entire time and pulled me out of the way, but I know he wasn't. You were the one to push me out of the way."

"You're not... crazy, Bella. I looked around the room to see if anyone was watching us. "Look, if they ask? All I remember is getting hit and blacking out, alright?"

"Why?" Bella asked confused. 

"Trust me," I whispered back. We were quiet for a second before her eyes flashed up to mine. 

"You knew, didn't you?" she asked with wide eyes. 

"What?" I asked, confused by the question. What was she talking about?

"Don't... You _knew_ that was going to happen, didn't you? That's why you were acting strange this morning. How did you know?" she asked getting off the floor to sit on the edge of the bed.

Oh... that's what she was talking about... Well, shit!

"Bella... I don't know what you’re talking about," I said, avoiding her eyes. 

"Stop lying to me," I heard her whisper. "You can trust me." I looked up to see Bronzy coming our way.

"Rae..." Bella said looking at me.

"Later, Bella," I said. She looked up and saw that Bronzy had come back.

"Fine." Bella moved to sit crossed legged on an armchair.

Then a doctor walked around the corner. He was young, he was blond... and he was handsomer than any movie star I'd ever seen. Well, I've actually never seen one... but you know what I mean. He was pale, though, and tired-looking, with circles under his eyes. From Charlie's description, this had to be Bronzy's father also, surely, known as the head of their little vampire coven.

"So, Miss Williams," Dr. Cullen said in a very appealing voice, "how are you feeling?" 

"I'm fine," I said, for the last time, though I could see, from the corner of my eye, Eduardo had a doubtful expression. 

Dr. Cullen walked to the light board on the wall over my head and turned it on. 

"Your X-rays look... good..." he said. "Does your head or back hurt? Edward said you hit them pretty hard." 

"I'm fine," I repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick glare toward Eduardo who gave me a smug look. Jerkish Bronzy...

The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along my skull. He noticed when I winced. "Tender?" he asked. 

"Not really." I'd had worse— a gazillion times worse. 

I heard a chuckle and looked over to see Bronzy's patronizing smile. My eyes narrowed. 

"Well, your godfather is in the waiting room— you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all or your back." 

"Can't I go back to school?" I asked, imagining Charlie trying to be attentive. 

"Maybe you should take it easy today... or for the week." 

I glanced at Bella. "Does she get to go?" 

"She'll be taking it easy for today," he replied. 

I nodded then glanced at Bronzy. "Does  _he_  get to go to school?" 

"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," Bronzy said smugly. I scowled at him. 

"Actually," Dr. Cullen corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room." 

"Oh no," I whispered, panicked, covering my face with my hands. 

Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to stay?" 

"No!" I literally shouted, yanking the wires and tubes off, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. Too quickly— I staggered, and Dr. Cullen caught me. He looked concerned. 

"I'm fine," I assured him again.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied me.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," I insisted. 

"It sounds like you were extremely lucky," Dr. Cullen said, smiling as he signed my chart with a flourish. 

"Lucky Edward happened to be standing right next to us," Bella amended, her and I giving him a hard glance at the subject of her statement.

"Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him as he walked out of the room. 

As soon as the doctor was out, I moved to Bronzy's side.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I hissed under my breath. He took a step back from me, his jaw suddenly clenched. 

"Your godfather is waiting for you and Bella," he said through his teeth. 

I glanced at Bella and gave her a look. She understood and walked out. I slowly followed, tired already of being cooped up in that room.

"I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," I pressed.

"I  _do_  mind," he snapped.

"Well, don't," I snapped back.

He glared, and then turned his back and strode down the long room. As soon as we turned the corner into a short hallway, he spun around to face me. 

"What do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes were cold. 

His unfriendliness intimidated me. My words came out with less severity than I'd intended. "You owe me an explanation," I demanded.

"I saved your life— I don't owe you anything." 

I glared back at the resentment in his voice. "You saved Bella's life, I almost died," I replied coldly, humorlessly laughing inside, knowing I can't really die.

"Mila, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about." His tone was cutting.

My temper flared now, and I glared defiantly at him. "There's nothing wrong with my head. It's my back that got the worse out of the impact, you dimwit."

He glared back. "What do you want from me, Mila?"

"I want to know what in Hades you were thinking," I said. "I want to know why I should keep lying for you. I mean sure it's not my secret to tell, but you know nothing about me that would put me at a disadvantage for blackmailing." 

"What do you think happened?" he snapped. 

It came out in a rush. "Oh, don't give me that shit, leech! I know what you are!" I snapped back. His eyes widened in shock before he stared at me warily. 

"What am I?"

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "Do you really want me to shout it out here, in the middle of the hallway?" He didn't reply. "That's what I thought." 

I turned on my heels and started to walk away, but a cold hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. I quickly yanked myself away from his grasp, not liking the fact that a vampire touched me. 

"My only advice to you and your coven: watch out. Bella is stubborn and won't stop at anything until she figures out the truth. If you want to talk, I'm sure you know where we live. Eleven o'clock at night, forest." And with that, I walked away. 

The waiting room was more unpleasant than I'd feared. It seemed like every face I knew in Forks was there, staring at me. Charlie and Bella rushed to my side; I put up my hands.

"There's nothing wrong with me," I assured him sullenly. I was still aggravated, not in the mood for chitchat.

"What did the doctor say?" 

"Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine and I could go home... though I should take I easy for the week." I sighed. Mike, Jessica, and Eric were all there, beginning to converge on us. "Let's go," I urged.

Charlie put one arm around my shoulders, not quite touching me, and led me to the glass doors of the exit as Bella linked our arms together. I waved sheepishly at my friends, hoping to convey that they didn't need to worry anymore. It was a huge relief— the first time I'd ever felt that way— to get into the cruiser. 

We drove in silence. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I barely knew Charlie and Bella were there. When we got to the house, I was more than grateful that the silence stayed put.

I decided I might as well go to bed early that night. Charlie continued to watch me anxiously, and it was getting on my nerves. I stopped on my way to grab three Tylenol from the bathroom. They did help, and, as the pain eased, I drifted to sleep.

I felt a cold breeze brush against my skin as a cold hand lightly touched my arm. I didn't bother to open my eyes or move.

"I'm guessing you want to talk," I said in monotone.

"Yes," he replied. I sighed, got up and followed him out my window and into the woods. 

"So what do you want to talk about in the woods," I said. 

He rolled his eyes. "You proposed it," he muttered. I gave him a sheepish look. "You said you know what I am. So? What am I?" he demanded, stepping forward, closer to me.

"I know that you and the rest of the Cullens are vampires." He stiffened.

"Are you afraid?" he asked slowly. I looked at him and started to laugh humorlessly.

"Are you kidding me? Bronzy, I'm not afraid of you," I lied because the truth is that I'm insanely terrified. "You're different than the... human drinkers, you drink animal blood, plus I know you killed humans in the past and you felt guilty about it, I know you won't hurt me... Oh! And I know that you're a mind reader," I said as he walked a little closer to me, shocked.

"And how do you know all of this," he said. I laughed nervously; I'm not going to tell him about my life, now. Jesus!   

"Yeah, I'm not telling you that,” I said as his shocked face turned angry. 

"And why is that?" he spat harshly, glaring at me with his worst glare that everybody gets scared of because he looked dangerous. I tensed.

"You think you'll scare me with that glare? Awe, so cute how you're trying to be scary," I mocked as he got angrier. He blurred to me and pushed me against a tree, holding me up to it. I groaned in pain before glaring at him, my eyes turning peregrine-ish. I pushed him off me and he stumbled a couple times. 

"Tell me how you know!" he yelled. 

Then all at once, more anger pumped through my veins as my eyes turned bloody orange. Bronzy gasped and stepped back a little away from me as I took a few steps forward, closer to him. 

"You want to know? _Edward_ , do really want to know? Well, here it is! I've _read_ minds since I was nine when a stupid coven of blood-suckers came into my life and cursed me! They used my naivety to their advantage, promised to stay with me, then abandoned me! They left me there having people think I was crazy to the point where I was placed under freakin' intensive healthcare!" I yelled back, completely infuriated.

He was frozen in place, completely in shock, not even breathing or blinking, just frozen. I was too angry about this that I started walking out of the forest, but an ice-cold hand stopped me. I stopped but didn't turn back.  

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you to say it," he whispered brokenly. 

I felt my heart fall. "It's fine," I replied, then in a blur I was on his back. "What in Zeus' name do you think you're doing? Put me down!" 

He didn't answer, he just kept running in his vampire speed. I closed my eyes as it had been a while since I had done something similar. After what seemed like forever, he stopped and put me down. I was kind of dizzy, so I grabbed onto him to steady myself, and he wrapped an arm around my waist. I then look around for the first time tonight. We were standing on top of a hill; it had a great view of Forks. The trees, the lake, the forest, and I could see the sun starting to rise. Rays of sun suddenly shone upon Bronzy's skin, sparkling like thousands of diamonds... like  _he_  used to shine. My heart ached at the memory, but I couldn't oblige myself to look away as I was mesmerized. 

"Wow," I said, softly touching his face. He chuckled and put a hand over mine, keeping it there.   

"Yeah," he said. I was surprised when I didn't pull back. His touch wasn't uneasy or uncomfortable at all. 

Then I chuckled. He turned to look at me and tilted his head to the side, curiously. "What?" he asked, amusement clouding his tone. 

"It's just... funny. I've never been this sociable in my entire life... well you wouldn't get it, but to me it's funny," I replied, shrugging. 

We sat down on the grass, watching the sunrise in silence. Suddenly, I let out a big yawn as I rested my head against his shoulder and let my eyes slowly droop. I don't know how or why I felt so confident around them, but it scared me. 

"You're tired," he said softly, threading his cold fingers through my long hair. 

I shook my head stubbornly. "No, I'm fine. I'm wide awake..." He chuckled. "Hey, don't laugh at me," I said, pouting. 

He smiled. "Come on, let's get you home." 

"But the sun is pretty," I insisted then realized how stupid that was. "Wait, did I seriously just say that?" 

He laughed. "Yes, you did." 

I sighed. "Fine. Take me away, soldier."

And with that, he picked me up, bridal style, and took me back home. As soon as my back touched the soft blankets, I relaxed slightly, still not fully comfortable with his presence; if only he were the kind of blood-sucker that couldn't enter a home without an invitation. That would be sure to keep him out. 

"Bronzy?" 

"Why do you call me that?" he asked. 

"Your hair is kind of a bronze-ish color... so yeah," I mumbled. He chuckled. "Anyway... just, remember my advice. Watch out. Especially for Bella," I warned.

"Yes, alright," he replied. "Goodnight, Mila."

"Wait!" 

He sighed. "What now?" 

I took a deep breath as I curled myself into a ball under my covers. "This encounter and my knowledge about your kind stays between us for the time being, okay? At least until Bella finds out." 

"She won't—"

"She will. Don't underestimate her. It may take time, but trust me: you will be surprised by how far she gets with her stubbornness. So, for now, don't even tell your family, unless she finds out or something urgent happens... yeah. Night, Bronze boy!" 

He chuckled before I felt a pair of cold lips against my forehead. "Goodnight, Mila."


	6. New feelings

The next couple weeks were a drag. We got back to school, and everyone was asking Bella and I questions. I kept telling them all I remember is getting hit and blacking out. No one dared to ask Bronzy anything, and he started ignoring Bella. Looks like he took my words into consideration, though ignorance isn't exactly what I was aiming for. He can't possibly ignore her forever. What really pissed me off was the fact that the rest of his family took it upon themselves to watch my every move and that Bella decided to just ignore me. She would still stay close to me, but she wouldn't speak.

Mason... well I did my best to hide from him as he kept on looking for me and when he'd see me, he'd follow me around, not leaving me alone. It was seriously irritating— I had even given up on trying to find out what he is to stay away from him. 

Tyler was no better. Kid wouldn't stop following Bella and me around. I know he almost hit us with his car, and technically he did hit me with his van, but— come on, dude. That was like _forever_ ago.

The month that followed was frustrating, annoying, uneasy, tense, and, at first, embarrassing.

To my dismay, I found myself the center of attention for the rest of that week. Tyler was— I had never wanted to beat up someone so much for the littlest reason whatsoever, but it bothered me how he was still dead-set on following me around, obsessed with making amends to me somehow because he hit me with his stupid van. I tried to convince him what I wanted more than anything else was for him to forget all about it— especially since nothing had actually happened to me— but he remained insistent.

He followed me more than Bella, maybe because I was the one he knocked unconscious, between classes and sat at our now-crowded lunch table. Mike and Eric were even less friendly toward him than they were to each other, which made me worry that I'd gained another unwelcome fan. It was seriously irritating.

Like the first day I had gone back after my week-long absence, he followed me around like a damn lost puppy. We were walking into my third period, and I was annoyed as ever.

"Mila, I could carry your stuff if you want," he said, smiling at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Tyler... we're already in my class..." I said softly, trying to keep myself from screaming. I set my stuff down and turned to him.

"Oh... well how about I..." he started. I grabbed his shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Tyler... please! Just stop before I chop your head off! I'm not mad, so you really don't have to try and do things for me," I said through clenched teeth.

"How about I buy you lunch?"

 _Oh, for the love of—_ I groaned and moved to sit in my chair. The five-minute bell rung and I watched, relieved, as Tyler left.

"Why can't I have a freakin' normal life where I won't bring attention upon myself?" I muttered to myself as I slammed my head on the table.

I felt someone watching me, so after a few seconds, I finally looked up only to see Rosalie, whom I just realized had the same class as me, staring at me. I frowned.

"What are you staring at?" I sighed.

"I thought you said you were going to act like I didn't exist." Rosalie raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. 

"Well... I never actually said that, and besides, even if I had said that, it's kinda hard when you guys follow me around like you don't have anything better to do with your freakin' lives," I said, smirking at her.

She looked at me shocked. "You noticed?" 

"No... of course, I didn't notice the beautiful pale people that follow my ass around and occasionally hide behind trash cans." I rolled my eyes at her.

Did they really think I was that stupid?

She fought back a smirk, snorted and shook her head. "It wasn't my idea." 

I snorted. "Let me guess, it was your big teddy bear's idea."

She nodded giving me a sheepish look. "I did tell him he needed to stop doing that. He can be an idiot." 

"Why are you guys watching me? I don't think I ever did anything wrong to any of you, so why?" I ran my fingers through my hair.

"My family believe you are hiding something. So, naturally, we wish to know what it is." She shrugged and inspected her nails. I looked at her and narrowed my eyes. Just wait till they find out that I, myself, don't know my own secret. My life is a secret, but I never understood why I was born this way. And if they found out my secret, I'm sure things wouldn't turn out so well.

She looked at me with curious, amused eyes. I wasn't about to let her get to me. I was sick of them following me around and trying to figure me out. It was time that they squirmed and had a piece of their own medicine.

"You know, Rosalie, I'm hardly the one that looks suspicious. Take your family for example: beautiful and pale, fast, strong, you all seem to have the same golden eyes though you're supposedly not related, your eyes change color occasionally, and you never eat. I find that to be very peculiar and... abnormal."

I watched her eyes narrowed, and her body stiffened slightly. I smirked at her reaction and continued, "One might even think you weren't human at all."

I watched as she clenched her teeth and turned towards the board.

"Are you human?" I asked tauntingly, raising a brow at her.

"What do you think?" she retorted, rolling her eyes trying to sound like the answer was obvious even though we both know that she isn't. 

"I know what I think and know. I just want you to know that if you think I'm just trying to act stupid, well you're completely wrong. So... let's try that again... Are you human, Rosalie?" I repeated, speaking her name for the first time. I watched her turn her body to me and look me straight into my eyes.

"What do you believe I am? Since you have your mind set up," she asked through narrowed eyes. 

"Nope... I asked first. Stop avoiding the question, Blondie," I said, smirking. 

"This is ridiculous..." she started. 

"That is exactly what I think when I see one of you following or watching me," I said as the bell rang, signaling the end of class. 

Rosalie looked up at me, her face void of emotion. She didn't move to leave the class.

"Not so fun when it's you, is it? I suggest you leave me alone, from now on," I said, walking back towards the door. "Oh, and just a word of advice,  _watch out_. When keeping a secret, don't act mysterious about everything. It only makes people more suspicious."

"Sounds like you know a lot about secrets, Mila. Care to share?" Rosalie said, making her way towards me. We walked out of third together. I rolled my eyes and looked over at her. When I turned to walk away, I found Alice, Jasper, and Emmett staring at me. 

"Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to force it out of you?" she asked, smirking.

I looked them all in the eyes. "Seriously? You're threatening me?" I eyed them dubiously, breathing out a laugh of disbelief.

I couldn't believe what was happening. These vamps were crazy. I tried to walk around them, but Alice and Rosalie grabbed my arms and slammed me against the wall. 

"Let me go!" I snarled, irritated. Dang, where is Bronzy when you need him? 

Alice placed her tiny hand over my mouth and looked me in the eyes. 

"How did you know about the crash? What are you?" she asked me, warily. 

I stared at her and then looked up to see Emmett. He looked like he wanted to stop what was happening, but didn't have it in him to go against his family. Alice removed her hand, and I stared at her in the eyes, yanking myself away without much of a fight. I cursed under my breath at how furious I was getting— that's the only way my strength enhances till I'm almost as strong as a vampire. 

"Just because I know things doesn't mean I have to tell them to you. I know them for a reason, and that is something I have never told anyone. So tell me, why would I tell you?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

They didn't answer. They just stared at me with anxious yet puzzled expressions.

"That's what I thought," I said before spinning on my heels and walking away without looking back, though I almost fell back when I bumped into that someone I seriously didn't want to bump into. He caught me before I touched the ground and held onto me tightly. 

"You've been avoiding me," he said, locking his emerald green eyes with my silvery ones. 

"No, I haven't," I denied.

"Then why do you keep running away from me? Why don't you give me a chance? One day you just might need me," he said softly, caressing my cheek. 

I started shaking out of panic. "P-please. Don't," I pleaded. 

He looked at me with hurt filling his beautiful eyes. "Why?" he whispered.

My breathing hitched as I straightened myself. "B-because I... I just can't!" I exclaimed myself before pulling away and running off again. For the first time in a long time, for some reason, I wanted to lock myself up and cry, but I didn't.

He was already seated when I got to Biology, looking straight ahead. I looked to my right and realized Bella standing there beside me, staring pleadingly at me. I shook my head and made my way towards the seat behind them. I was relieved when he showed no sign that he realized I was there. 

"Sup, Bronzy," I said pleasantly, to show him I was going to behave myself.

He turned his head a fraction toward me without meeting my gaze, his lips twitching as he was fighting back a smile, nodded once, and then looked the other way.

And that was the last contact I'd had with him, though he was there, a foot away from me, every day. I watched him sometimes, unable to stop myself— from a distance, though, in the cafeteria or parking lot. I watched as his golden eyes grew perceptibly darker day by day. I watched as he would sneak glances at Bella every now and then with an expression that made my heart ache— an expression full of love. I was miserable. I had only ever seen that look addressed to me once in my life, and that was before the betrayal... 

The next morning I woke up extra early. I showered and changed and made my way downstairs. 

Since Charlie hadn't been downstairs, I assumed he went to work early. I sat at the table eating my breakfast. Not long after, I heard Bella make her way down the stairs. I opted on ignoring her presence, but after five minutes she couldn't seem to take the silence.

"Mila..." I heard her begin. 

I quickly turned and looked over my shoulder and then looked back at her to see her watching me. 

"Oh! Were you talking to me?" I said, faking surprise.

She had been ignoring me, so I thought to give her the same treatment wouldn't hurt, but the truth is it was killing me. 

Bella blushed and moved to sit at the table with me. I raised an eyebrow, and she sighed.

"I'm sorry, Mila. I didn't mean to act so distant and just ignore you, but I was just really upset that you have been keeping things from me," she said softly. 

I stared at her and nodded. I knew her apology was sincere. In all honesty, I was kind of changing... I've never been cold towards anyone nor sarcastic— actually sarcasm is something I quickly picked up from here when I got here. What is happening to me? 

I opened my mouth to say something to her when a nauseous feeling came over me. Before Bella could say anything, I was up the stairs, in the bathroom throwing up my hardy bowl of cereal, my head pounding so loud I could barely hear myself. 

"Rae, are you alright!?" Bella said, quickly following me up the stairs. 

I flushed the contents of my breakfast down the toilet and began washing my mouth out. 

"Rae... do you want to stay home, today?" Bella asked worriedly.

I quickly shook my head. "No, I'm fine," I replied though it came out pretty strangled.

"Are you sure?" Bella pressed.

"Positive," I replied starting to brush my teeth. "Just give me a minute." Bella nodded before making her way back downstairs.

Once I was finished, I sighed and looked at myself. I don't know what caused that, but I felt better now. I shook my head and made my way down the stairs. Not long after we left for school. I laid my head against the cool surface of the car window. Nausea had made its way back to me. Bella asked me many times if I was alright but I just waved it off.

When we entered the parking lot, I slowly made my way out the truck. I was taking slow steady breathes trying to keep myself from barfing all over the place. I was seriously starting to regret not staying home. 

I closed my eyes for a few seconds and then opened them to see Bella and Bronzy watching me with concerned expressions.

"Rae? I can take you home if you like," Bella said softly.

"No... I-I said I was fine." I picked up my bag and was about to walk away when she asked a question that made me explode. 

"Are you acting stubborn and making yourself suffer because of what happened with  _him_?" 

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to glare at her. She doesn't even know what really happened with  _him_ , so why is she bringing this up? 

"What the hell? Why would you... ugh!" I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "You want an answer? Fine, here's your answer, Isabella! I am not acting stubborn and making myself suffer because of  _him_. What happened was a long time ago, and you don't even know what really happened, so you have no right to judge me or my actions. I'm here because I don't think this is worth staying home over. You are really beginning to make me think the only thing you think I do is hurt myself or try to cause pain to others. Sorry to disappoint you, but that's not on my day-to-day agenda."

Bella looked at me and sighed. "Rae... I..." she started to say, but I held my hand up to stop her. 

"I'm pretty sure Bronzy boy didn't come all the way over here to watch us argue and to be honest, talking to you is the last thing I feel like doing right now. So, I'll see you later."

With that, I started walking away, but I stopped dead in my tracks and collapsed onto the ground, darkness slowly threatening to take over me. 

 _"Weak little girl..."_  

 _"More suffering... feels good..."_  

Shut up. 

_"The pain... burning... scream crazy girl..."_

I'm not crazy!

 _"Scream... burn..."_  

"No!" I shouted, bolting upright. I looked around the white room and started panicking.

"Mila!" someone exclaimed themselves.

I turned to see Bella rushing over to my side. She pulled me into a hug and started mumbling apologies and cursing herself under her breath.

"What happened?" I asked, though my voice came out strangled.

"You fainted in the middle of the parking lot," said the most beautiful voice ever that made me tense up. Why the fuck is he here?

"Because I was there when it happened and I was the one to pick you up and bring you here," Mason said. 

"Damn it. I said that out loud, didn't I?" 

"Yeah," Bronzy replied with a smirk on his face, stepping up beside Bella. I groaned. The only two people I seriously didn't want to see were standing right here in the same room as me. Just  _great_. 

I got off the bed, grabbed my jacket and bag and started walking off when two cold hands stopped me.

"Where are you going?" Bella and both pale faces asked at the same time. 

"I'm going home," I muttered avoiding their eyes. 

"I'll take you," both guys said at the same time before glaring at each other.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I'll take her." 

I shook my head and gave her a small smile, ignoring the other two guys. "I'll go alone." 

"But—" 

"I'll be fine Bells. I'm sorry about earlier, but I really need to be alone right now." 

She looked at me cautiously and pursed her lips for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright, but please be careful and go straight home." 

I nodded and hugged her before walking past Bronzy and Massive— I'll call Mason that from now on since he is a massive pain in the ass— ignoring them completely. 

It was getting dark outside.

I'd walked this route a few times before, but everything was different now. I felt like something didn't want me to walk home that night, but I didn't have a car, and therefore, I didn't have a choice either. I followed the deserted sidewalk with hastened steps, wanting to get home quickly before I became the next face on a milk carton. I started to calm down a little.

"Nothing to be nervous about, Mila. You've walked this route before," I whispered, trying to soothe myself, but it was far from working.

I heard a loud bang behind me and jumped, not looking back as I took off running, not paying attention to where I was going as I cut through the cemetery. I sighed, looking around in the darkness, seeing nobody. That was close. Close to what, I'm not sure. I was leaning against the wall of a church when a hand shot out of the pitch darkness and grabbed me, causing me to scream. A man stepped into my view as he flipped open a pocket knife, putting a hand to his lips to shut me up.

I gulped, my heartbeat accelerating. He looked down at my bag and snatched it, sticking his hand into it, pulling out the contents of my bag. My books, my phone, my portable umbrella and lastly, he found what he was looking for when he grabbed my wallet. He slid it into his back pocket and then looked at me again. He looked to be around his mid-twenties. Not bad looking, but definitely not good looking. It then occurred to me. He was going to  _try_ to kill me. He was going to beat me up me, and nobody would know. I was somewhere away from Forks, and I didn't even know where exactly, so there was nobody here to save me. Nobody would come to my rescue. Nobody would hear me scream. Nobody would care. He looked me over. 

"It's a shame to only take your wallet when you could obviously offer  _so_  much more," he said with a wink.

I gulped, nearly choking on my spit. He smirked and pressed me against the wall, sliding off my jacket and then started to work on the top buttons of my plaid shirt. I shook my head, but he still had the pocket knife. He only got to the third button when something ripped him off of me. Gasping for air as I could finally breathe without having to worry about a knife cutting into me, I fell back against the wall, coughing. When I looked up, I couldn't see the face of my rescuer, but he beat up the man, muttering curse words and other scoldings. I scooted back against the wall, fumbling for what had spilled out of my bag, only wanting to get out of there.

As I was picking up my stuff, I heard a creak and looked up just in time to see the overhanging of the church starting to give way. There was no way I'd be able to make it out of here, now. As it started to fall, someone grabbed me and my bag, pulling me out of the way as the overhanging fell to the ground just inches from my feet. By now, I was about ready to have a panic attack. I was having trouble breathing and started wheezing. A hand reached from behind me, causing to yelp and look up, my breathing instantly hitching. Pale skin, deep dark brown hair with emerald green eyes... I would recognize him anywhere.

"Mason," I chocked out. 

"I did tell you that one day you just might need me— guess that day is today, huh? Are you alright?" he asked me sternly, but I detected something else there as well. 

Worry. 

"I-I think so," I muttered as he extended a hand to me, to help me up. 

I took his hand, and he easily pulled me up, looking into my eyes for a moment, searching for what in them? I don't know. I looked down at the ground, and he chuckled quietly to himself. 

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked one more time, handing me my stuff back, including my wallet before caressing my cheek with a cold yet warm hand. He really isn't a human, but he isn't a vampire either... what is he? A hybrid? 

I swallowed hard. "Just a little shaken up," I whispered. 

I looked over at the passed out man that had tried to rob me and shuddered. Mason noticed and looked as if he could beat the man even more then he already did. 

"Should we call the cops?" I asked, worried, though I actually didn't want to since Charlie is the chief.

He shook his head. "No. I already called them a moment ago while you were trying to gather your belongings," he said. 

I cursed under my breath as my heart started beating faster, and for some reason, I believed him.

"Would you like me to walk you home? I don't know if it's a good idea for you to walk the rest of the way alone," he said.

After what he just did for me, I didn't want to inconvenience him, but I was also very curious. 

"That would be really nice of you," I said, looking down. 

He seemed taken aback by my answer but nodded and wrapped an arm around my waist as we started to walk toward the house, with me leading the way and Mason, staying closely and protectively by my side, tightening his grip on me every now and then. After a moment of silence, we both looked at each other, though I quickly looked away. 

"Thank you for saving me," I murmured, looking down at my feet. 

He chuckled. "It was my pleasure to be able to help out a beautiful woman, " he said.

I laughed humorlessly and shook my head. Beautiful? Please! I am nowhere near that.

We got to the door of my colonial style house, and I was suddenly faced with the gut-wrenching feeling that I was alone. Charlie was still at work, and Bella still wasn't home— I guess I wasn't gone for so long after all. It was just me.

As if he sensed my uneasiness, Mason stepped in front of me, so that he was inches away from my face. 

"If you want, I can stay with you until someone you feel safe with comes," he offered in a whisper.   

I nodded, and then he gently brushed his lips against mine, causing my heart to falter. I wasn't sure, but for some reason, I knew that this was different than kissing anyone. I barely felt his lips brush over mine and it only lasted a second, but we stood like that for I don't know how long... and I felt strangely comfortable.

"I could make you something warm to drink. It's pretty chilly here," I finally replied in a whisper as well.

He gave me a small smile and caressed my cheek. "I'd like that."

I nodded, clearing my throat as we walked inside. Hanging our coats in the coat closet, I walked into the kitchen and started to make us both some hot tea. 

"Er... is tea alright with you?" I asked him, not looking over my shoulder at him.

"Tea would be wonderful, thank you," he said, politely. Wonderful? He's polite? Another reason why I should be suspicious. 

I really was honestly very curious about him, but I also didn't want to ask him a ton of questions. I didn't know him, but it felt like I'd known him my whole life when I knew that was not the case.

After I was done with our tea, my hand was still trembling from everything that had happened. Mason noticed and walked over, gently putting his cold hand on mine. 

"I can carry it over to the table," he whispered in my ear, looking down at our hands.

I looked down at them as well and slid my hand out from underneath of his, nodding . He grabbed our tea gracefully and walked over, setting them down on the table, pulling my chair out for me. We sat down across from each other and I didn't look up from my tea for a while. 

"Are you ok—" I cut him off, but putting my hand up to stop him. 

I shook my head and stood up. "Please don't ask me if I'm okay. Because... for the first time, I might not lie and say that I'm fine. " 

I walked over to the sink and stood there in front of it for a few seconds before slumping against the counter and burying my face in my hands. How had I made such a mess of my whole life? But what could I have done differently? Even in hindsight, I couldn't think of any better way, any perfect course of action. I had just been naïve and stupid enough to trust a bloodsucking demon.

"Mila... ?" Mason asked in a troubled voice.

I pulled my face out of my hands to see him hesitating a few feet away; he hadn't left when I'd hope he would. I didn't want anyone to see me look so vulnerable. It was only when I saw the clear drop sparkling in my hands that I realized I was crying, but it was only one teardrop. Mason's calm expression was gone; his face was anxious and unsure. He walked quickly back to stand in front of me, ducking his head so that his eyes were closer to being on the same level as mine. 

"Did it again, didn't I?" 

"Did what?" I asked, my voice cracking.

"I keep hurting you for some reason," he whispered.

I shook my head. "No... it's not you... I— my life's been a mess since forever, and you... sometimes remind me of it," I whispered back, looking down at my suddenly interesting shoes. 

I peered at him through my long eyelashes, and he looked like he was thinking about blurring more lines. Sure enough, he came closer and rested his forehead over mine, his minty breath brushing against my face.

"Mason," I protested, trying to lean away.

He didn't move away, though, not looking bothered at all by the minor rejection. He reached out and took my hand firmly, wrapping his other hand around my wrist when I tried to pull away again. Where did he get the confidence from? 

"Now, just hold on a minute, Mila," he said in a calm voice. "Tell me something." 

I grimaced. I didn't know where he was getting at with this, but whatever it was, I didn't want to do it. Not just not now, but not ever, yet he seemed determined to change that.

"What?" I muttered sourly.

"You like me, right?"

I didn't answer, I just looked down. 

"Mila..." 

"I don't know," I whispered because the truth is I really didn't. I've spent all my time trying to avoid him for some reason I don't even know him besides the fact that he reminds me of  _him_. 

"Maybe..." I added, peering up at him through my long lashes.

"Better than any of the other guys you know, though, right?" He was calm, serene as if my answer didn't matter, or he already knew what it was.

"Maybe," I sighed. "Maybe even better than the girls, too…"

"But that's all," he said, and it wasn't a question. It was hard to answer, to say the word. 

"Yes," I whispered.

He grinned down at me. "That's okay, you know. As long as you like me the best. I'm prepared to be annoyingly persistent."

"I'm not going to change," I whispered.

His face was thoughtful, no longer teasing. "What happened to you?" he murmured, though he was more likely saying it to himself.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked looking down at me with genuine concern.

"W-why do I feel like..." I trailed off.

He cocked an eyebrow, letting go of my hands and placing his own on either side of me so I wouldn't move away. "Feel like what?" he asked.

"Like I know you. Like I've known you for a long time. Oh, my Gods. They were right— I am crazy. I've lost my mind," I muttered, embarrassed as I put my head in my hands again.

"You're not crazy," he said.

I looked up at him, only to find his face a few inches from mine. I rested my head against his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Why... are you this way with me? What do you really want?" I murmured against his shoulder; no one is this nice and persistent unless they want something from you— I learned that the hard way.

It was silent for a moment before he finally answered. "You."

I was frozen for a few seconds before slowly looking up at him with an expression that had only been addressed to me once in my entire life.

He looked down at me, resting his hand on my cheek gently.

"If anything happened to you, I couldn't live with myself," he murmured.

I looked down and bit my lip and then looked up at him. "Why?"

He grabbed my hand and placed it over his heart. I couldn't feel anything or hear it beating.

That was when I realized as I felt the warm skin instead of cold beneath my hand. "You're a vampire," I whispered.

"No."

I frowned. "Then what? A hybrid? A shifter?"

He smiled a small smile. "Sure."

My breathing hitched; why couldn't I believe him completely?

"Because I'm mostly a vampire, my heart beats at an abnormally quick pace... but if you listen closely, Mila, you'll realize that it only beats for you," he said.

Ha! Smooth.

In spite of my doubts, I looked up at him, then closed my eyes, putting my head on his chest, and this time I could hear it beating softly in my head. I quickly looked back up at him in shock as he smiled down at me, making my heart skip a few beats. I had no idea what I was feeling, but whatever it was, I wasn't ready for it. I was scared.

Maybe it was just my paranoia; the last time I trusted and truly believed in something, I was betrayed. The demons relentlessly cackling in my head, patronizing my daily didn't help one bit.

Mason and I stared at each other for a long moment. His hand smoldered against my skin. In my face, I knew there was nothing but wistful sadness, fear, and confusion. I didn't know what I wanted, but I somehow knew that one day I would want this— want him. But why? I barely knew him. At first, his face reflected mine, but then, as neither of us looked away, his expression changed.

He released me, lifting his other hand to brush his fingertips along my cheek, trailing them down to my jaw. I could feel his fingers tremble, but not out of anger. He pressed his palm against my cheek so that my face was trapped between his cold yet burning hands.

"Mila," he whispered.

I was frozen again. I now knew what he wanted.

No! I hadn't made this decision yet. I didn't know if I could do this, and now I was out of time to think. But I would have been a fool if I thought rejecting him now would have no consequences. Maybe if I told him to wait for me... would he wait? I wasn't ready for this, and quite frankly, I wasn't sure if I ever would be. I never had an actual relationship before, and I didn't know who this crap worked.

I stared back at him. He was not mine, but could he be? His face was somehow familiar and beloved. In so many real ways, I did feel something for him... and it was more than just liking. Maybe it was love? No— I've barely stepped toward the admittance in liking him. And yet, I found a strange sense of comfort in his presence, a safe harbor.

Right now, I could choose to have him belong to me.

Suddenly, I found myself hyperaware of everything; I could hear Bella's truck, driving a few blocks away from here. She would be here in a few minutes, but that changed nothing. True love was never really in my life. The prince chose evil and darkness over me and was never coming back to rescue me from this bottomless pit of hell.

And, let's face it— I am not a princess. So what was the fairy-tale protocol for other kisses? The mundane kind that didn't break any spells?

Maybe it would be easy, this time around. Maybe this would feel nice. Maybe this wouldn't feel like a betrayal because, honestly, who was I betraying, anyway?

Just my stupid, shittin' self.

Keeping his eyes on mine, Mason began to bend his face toward me. And I was still absolutely undecided.

"Mason, don't," I found myself finally stopping him. "P-please... I... I can't…"

He sighed but didn't pull away.

"Fine... but just know that I'm not giving up. I've got loads of time." He smirked. "An eternity."

I sighed. "An eternity you shouldn't waste on me," I said, though I wanted him to. Especially if he was willing to accept me the way I was— damaged goods, as is.

"It's what I want to do, as long as you still like to be with me."

"For some reason, I can't imagine how I could  _not_  like being with you," I told him honestly.

Mason beamed. "I can live with that."

"Just don't expect more any time soon," I warned him, trying to pull myself away, but he only tightened his grip on me.

"This doesn't really bother you, does it?" he demanded, grabbing my hand and squeezing my fingers.

"No," I sighed.

Truthfully, it felt nice. His hand was so much warmer than mine; I always felt too cold these days especially with the other vampires around school, stalking and following me everywhere.

"And you don't care what anyone else thinks."

"Funny enough, I don't really care about any of the sorts."

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem is," I said, "that it means something more than it would ever mean to me."

"To who?"

"I don't know!" I retorted, sighing out in exasperation. "I don't know what plans are waiting for me now— who's planning what, but I don't want to get into something this profound and fall too deep, okay?"

"Why are you so adamant that this means more to me than it does to you?"

"Because it does, doesn't it?"

"Even if that were the case." He tightened his hand around mine. "That would be my problem, no?"

"Fine," I grumbled. "Don't forget it, though."

He chuckled quietly for a minute and buried his face in the crook of my neck. "I'll wait for you, Milarayne. I'll wait for you a thousand years if I have to, but I won't _ever_ give up," he whispered, kissing my neck, making me shiver.

I swallowed hard. "You should go," I said in a strangled voice. "Bella's almost here."

He looked up at me with curiosity. "It appears you are more than what you seem to be," he stated, brushing his lips against my chin.

I groaned. "Trust me, you don't want to know any more than that," I muttered.

He grinned mischievously. "I'll find out eventually," he said, kissing my cheek before disappearing, not giving me the time to react. I blushed, shocking the life out of myself. I've never blushed before...

 And I've never felt this way before either.


	7. Invitations

**Hey Mila,**

**What's up? Haven't spoken to each other in a while. Are you okay? Are you feeling better? God! You can't imagine how much I miss you right now. It's been like forever since the last time we talked. Are you really going to a public school? Fred told me. I think that's great. Nothing's really that great here in Seattle, especially since I don't have you around to spend my time with. Anyway, I hope you're doing alright, and I really hope to see you soon.**

**Love, your best friend, Riley.**

Riley Biers, he was my first best friend ever. I met him back in Chicago at the age of five. We became buddies right away, and he never seized surprising me especially when he still stood by my side after I was put in an institution for the first time. He moved back to Seattle at fourteen, but we stayed in contact. Other than Bella, Charlie, and Fred, he was the only thing that kept me sane, and that kept me from really losing my mind.

I missed him so much, though, for some reason, I was scared for  _his_  life. For some reason, I felt like I was going to lose him soon enough and that I wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

**Riley,**

**Everything is great... ish. I now live with my godfather Charlie and his daughter Bella. You wouldn't believe how much it rains here. I got out of the institution a few months ago, so everything here is kind of new to me. School isn't so bad, though; you were right about that. It's just a little overcrowded for my taste, and there's too much gossip flying around; it's seriously irritating, though I met some nice kids who sit by me at lunch along with Bella. Charlie bought her a truck, and I go around in it with her. It's old, yet really sturdy, and I love it.**

**I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, I promise.**

**Love, your best friend, Mila.**

"Mila! Are you coming?" Bella called from downstairs.

"Yeah. One second!" I called back. I clicked on the mouse to send the email, grabbed my bag and jacket before running out of my room to meet Bella at the front door.

The ride was silent, but comfortable because we were finally our old selves again around each. I told her about the incident from yesterday, though I made sure to keep the part where Mason almost kissed me out of the conversation. She told me about how she invited Bronzy to come to La Push, but he objected. I wonder why... I'll have to invite him too, to know.

Despite my outright lies, the tenor of my e-mails alerted Fred to my depression, and he called a few times, worried. I tried to convince him it was just the weather that had me down.

Mike, at least, was pleased by the obvious coolness between me and my now and then lab partner. I could see he'd been worried that Bronzy's daring rescue might have impressed me, and he was relieved that it seemed to have the opposite effect, though he should know better since Bella's the one he  _tried_  to save. Mike grew more confident, sitting on the edge of my table to talk before Biology class started, ignoring Bronzy as completely as he ignored us.

I found it stupid that Bella kept switching the whole lab partner thing with me. It was seriously annoying because even though Bronzy pretended to ignore me, I could always see him scooting closer now and then, and that really ticked me off.

The snow washed away for good after that one dangerously icy day. Mike was disappointed he'd never gotten to stage his snowball fight but pleased that the beach trip would soon be possible. The rain continued heavily, though, and the weeks passed.

Jessica made me aware of another event looming on the horizon— she called the first Tuesday of March to ask my permission to invite Mike to the girls'-choice spring dance in two weeks.

"Are you sure you don't mind... you weren't planning to ask him?" she persisted when I told her I didn't mind in the least.

"No, Jess, I'm not going," I assured her. Dancing was glaringly outside my range of abilities— I never tried, but still. And it's a party. If it's anything like it is in movies... I don't even want to know about it.

"It will be really fun." Her attempt to convince me was halfhearted. She had tried to convince Bella as well, but my dear godsister refused as well. I suspected that Jessica enjoyed our inexplicable popularity more than our actual company.

"You have fun with Mike," I encouraged.

The next day, Bella and I were surprised that Jessica wasn't her usual gushing self in Trig and Spanish. She was silent as she walked by our side between classes, and I was afraid to ask her why. If Mike had turned her down, I was the last person she would want to tell. My fears were strengthened during lunch when Jessica sat as far from Mike as possible, chatting animatedly with Eric. Mike was unusually quiet.

Mike was still quiet as he walked us to class, the uncomfortable look on his face a bad sign. But he didn't broach the subject until I was in my seat and he was perched on my desk, Bella sitting behind me. As always, I was electrically aware of Eddie sitting close enough to touch, as distant as if he were merely an invention of my imagination. I seriously hated that.

"So," Mike said, looking at the floor, "Jessica asked me to the spring dance."

"That's great." I made my voice bright and enthusiastic. "You'll have a lot of fun with Jessica."

"Well..." He floundered as he examined my smile, clearly not happy with my response. "I told her I had to think about it."

"Why the fuck would you do that?" I let disapproval color my tone, though I was relieved he hadn't given her an absolute no.

His face was bright red as he looked down again. Pity shook my resolve.

"I was wondering if... well, if you might be planning to ask me."

I paused for a moment, hating the wave of guilt that swept through me. But I saw, from the corner of my eye, Bronzy's head tilt reflexively in my direction.

"Mike, I think you should tell her yes," I said.

"Did you already ask someone?" Mike's eyes flickered in Bronzy's direction. Why would he look at him?

"No," I assured him. "I'm not going to the dance at all."

"Why not?" Mike demanded.

That's when my lovely godsister butted in for me, saving my life. "We're going to Seattle that Saturday," she explained. I sighed.

I needed to get out of town anyway— it was suddenly the perfect time to go. And Seattle? I would definitely be willing to go. Maybe I could stop by at Riley's for a while...

"Can't you go some other weekend?"

"Sorry, no," I said. "So you shouldn't make Jess wait any longer— it's rude."

"Yeah, you're right," he mumbled, and turned, dejected, to walk back to his seat.

I turned and smiled at Bella who secretly winked at me before smirking victoriously. I turned back around in my seat and closed my eyes, pressing my fingers to my temples, trying to push the guilt and sympathy out of my head. Mr. Banner began talking. I sighed and opened my eyes.

And Eduardo was staring at me curiously, that same, familiar edge of frustration even more distinct now in his black eyes that were slowly turning gold again.

I stared back, surprised, expecting him to look quickly away. But instead, he continued to gaze with probing intensity into my eyes. There was no question of me looking away. My hands started to shake. I somehow felt the need to have Mason by my side. It hadn't even been a day since I last saw him and I already missed him... wait, what?

"Mr. Cullen?" the teacher called, seeking the answer to a question that I hadn't heard.

"The Krebs Cycle," he answered, seeming reluctant as he turned to look at Mr. Banner.

I looked down at my book as soon as his eyes released me, trying to find my place. I tried very hard not to be aware of him for the rest of the hour, and, since that was impossible, at least not to let him know that I was aware of him. When the bell rang at last, I turned my back to him to gather my things, expecting him to leave immediately as usual.

"Mila?"

His voice shouldn't have been so familiar to me, as if I'd known the sound of it all my life rather than for just a few short weeks. I turned slowly, unwillingly. I didn't want to feel what I knew I would feel when I looked at his too-perfect face. My expression was wary when I finally turned to him; his expression was unreadable. He didn't say anything.

I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly through my nose, aware that I was gritting my teeth. He waited.

"What do you want, Bronzy?" I asked, keeping my eyes closed; it was easier to talk to him coherently that way.

"I'm sorry." He sounded sincere. "I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way, really."

I opened my eyes. His face was very serious.

My brows furrowed in confusion, I gave him a weird look. "What does that even mean?" I asked, my voice guarded.

"It's better if we're not friends," he explained. "Trust me."

I chuckled humorlessly. "You thought we were friends," I said flatly. "Cute."

I honestly didn't consider him anywhere near that. Something told me he had already told this to Bella and that since she was right behind us, he only wanted to make it fair by saying it here and now.

"You're right," said a voice.

I frowned. Please, dear lord, tell me I wasn't thinking out loud again.

"You were," the voice said. I looked to my left and saw Bronzy fighting back a smirk.

"I _so_ want to punch you, right now," I hissed under my breath, once again breaking the pencil I was holding.

He chuckled and reached his cold hand out to grab mine. He loosened my fist until I let my pencil fall onto the table, but he didn't let go. He ran his thumb in circles around the back of my hand.

I turned my head sharply away from him, clenching my jaw. I pulled away and gathered my books together, then stood and walked to the door. I meant to sweep dramatically out of the room, but of course, someone had to be clumsy, and 'accidentally' push me, making me fall.

Then, the someone I had been wanting to see for a while now caught me before I could touch the ground. My heart raced as his emerald green eyes bored into my silvery ones. It was when I noticed I was holding onto him for dear life that I realized that I had dropped my books.

I straightened my position and just stood there for a moment, thinking about leaving them. Then I sighed and bent to pick them up. He was there; he'd already stacked them into a pile. He handed them to me, his face hard.

"Thank you," I said coldly.

His golden eyes narrowed, then turned cold when he saw Mason. "You're welcome," he retorted.

Eric and Tyler were next to ask me to the dance as well as some other guys whose names I had forgotten, but of course, I did my best to turn them down nicely.  

After school, Bella had told Charlie she was going to Seattle. I was going to go with her, but I changed my mind and decided to stay. Ever since I got here, I've felt the need to stay close to the forest. 

The next morning, when Bella pulled into the parking lot, she deliberately parked as far as possible from the silver Volvo. I was proud of her because I'm sure she didn't want to put herself in the path of too much temptation and end up owing him a new car. She got out of the truck but left the key in.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed it. Getting out of the cab, I fumbled with the key, and it fell into a puddle at my feet. As I bent to get it, a white hand flashed out and grabbed it before I could. I jerked upright. Stupid Bronzy was right next to me, leaning casually against the truck.

"Would you stop doing that?" I hissed in irritation.

"Doing what?" He held the key out as he spoke.

As I reached for it, he dropped it into my palm. "Appear out of thin air, you idiot. Are you trying to give yourself away?"

He smirked. "Mila, it's not my fault if you are exceptionally unobservant." His voice was quiet as usual— velvet, muted.

I rolled my eyes and scowled at his perfect face. His eyes were light today, a deep, golden honey color. I looked around and realized Bella had just left me. I guess I wasn't the only one he was irritating. Then I had to look down, to reassemble my now-tangled thoughts.

"Why the traffic jam last night?" I demanded, still looking away. "I thought we agreed you were supposed to be pretending we don't exist, not irritating us, _especially me_ , to death."

"That was for Tyler's sake, not mine. I had to give him his chance." He snickered.

"You..." I gasped. That jerk! It felt like the heat of my anger should physically burn him, but he only seemed more amused.

"And I'm not pretending you don't exist," he continued.

"So you are trying to irritate me to death? Since Tyler's van didn't do the job?" And nothing else I've tried either, I added silently to myself.

I looked around the parking lot and saw Mike and the other normal people I hang out with and internally smirked when I saw hike holding a baseball bat. I stomped over to him, not letting Bronzy speak another word.

"Mike?"

Mike looked up at me and smiled. "Hey, Mila. What's up?"

I bit my lip and furrowed my brows. "Um... can I borrow your baseball bat?"

He raised an eyebrow, taken aback by my question. "What for?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged. "You'll see," I replied, holding my hand out. He lent me the bat, and I stomped over to the glossy red convertible with the top up— where the youngsters of the Cullen clan were, holding the black baseball bat behind my back.

I leaned against the front of the car with both hands, looking at all four faces. The boys looked at me curiously, Twinkle-toes was smiling, and Barbie looked slightly pissed. Slowly, I took the bat, pointing it straight at her.

"Here is the message— well... mostly advice I would like to send to your family," I spoke with narrowed eyes, nostrils flaring as I proceeded to threaten them. "You don't leave me alone— you don't want to know what happens. You harm a single hair on _Bella's_ head, and there  _will_  be pain."

They laughed. Those bastards actually laughed, which only pissed me off. Letting out the creepiest, most humorless giggle I'd ever emitted, I flicked my hair over my shoulder before I took a swing and smashed the baseball bat twice; the headlights, and the front lid of the car.

Everyone around the car stared wide-eyed and jaws dropped, including Barbie and the boys, Alice was giggling behind her hand for some unknown reason that was seriously irritating me.

"And there is more to come, especially if you mess with _me_ ," I said as I walked by it.

For good measure, I slammed the tail light. "Fix that, fairies! And yeah, I just called you fairies!"

And with that I ran away, with Mike, Tyler, and Eric cheering for me as they ran after me, Angela and Jessica were still in shock when they too ran after me.

"It seems Mila is more dangerous than Bella," I heard Jasper say.

"I told you not to laugh at her," I heard Alice reply. I gave Mike his bat back then kept running through the parking lot, but in a blink of an eye, I was stopped by a cold hand, firmly gripping my arm.

I looked back only to see anger flash in his tawny eyes. His lips pressed into a hard line, all signs of humor gone.

"Mila, you were utterly absurd," he said, his low voice cold.

My palms tingled— I wanted so badly to hit something— him. I yanked myself away, turned my back and started to walk away.

"Wait," he called. I kept walking, sloshing angrily through the rain. But he was next to me, easily keeping pace.

"I'm sorry, that was rude," he said as we walked.

I ignored him.

"I'm not saying it isn't true," he continued, "but it was rude to say it, anyway."

"Why won't you leave me alone?" I grumbled. "Did you not just hear what I told your siblings?"

"I wanted to ask you something, but you sidetracked me," he chuckled. "Twice." He seemed to have recovered his good humor.

"Do you have a multiple personality disorder?" I asked severely.

"You're doing it again."

I sighed. "Fine then. What do you want?"

"I was wondering if, a week from Saturday— you know, the day of the spring dance—"

"Are you trying to be funny?" I interrupted him, wheeling toward him. My face got drenched as I looked up at his expression.

His eyes were wickedly amused. "Will you please allow me to finish?"

I huffed and clasped my hands together, interlocking my fingers so I couldn't do anything rash.

"I heard you say you were going to Seattle that day, and I was wondering if you wanted a ride."

That was unexpected.

"What?" I wasn't sure what he was getting at.

"Do you want a ride to Seattle?"

"With who?" I asked, mystified.

"Myself, obviously." He enunciated every syllable as if he were talking to someone mentally handicapped.

I was still stunned. "Why in the fuck of all fucks given would you suggest that?"

"Well, I was planning to go to Seattle in the next few weeks, and, to be honest, I'm not sure if Bella's truck can make it."

"Her truck works just fine, thank you very much for your concern." I started to walk again, feeling slightly irritated.

"But can her truck make it there on one tank of gas?" He matched my pace again.

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Stupid, shiny Volvo owner.

"The wasting of finite resources is everyone's business."

"Honestly, _Edward_." I felt a thrill go through me as I said his name, and I hated it. "Just leave me alone. If you want to offer someone a ride, ask Bella though I doubt she'll say yes, considering the way you treat her. Besides I'm not going with her anymore. I'm staying home. Now, if you'll excuse me," I saw Mason across the lot and fought the urge to run to him. "I have to go."

A cold hand grabbed my hand and pulled me back. His eyes were gloriously intense as he uttered that last sentence, his voice smoldering. I couldn't remember how to breathe.

"Will you go with me to Seattle?" he asked, still intense. I couldn't speak yet. I closed my eyes as my breathing hitched and stepped back, away from his grasp.

"You really should stay away from me," I warned.

I turned abruptly and ran off. I wasn't ready to have any real friendships or relationships for that matter, at the moment.

I don't think I'll ever be.


	8. Blood type

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. It was difficult to believe that I hadn't just imagined what Eduardo had said, and the way his eyes had looked. Maybe it was just a very convincing dream that I'd confused with reality. That seemed more probable.

So I was impatient and frightened as Bella, Jessica, and I entered the cafeteria. I didn't want to see his face, to see if he'd gone back to the cold, indifferent person I'd known for the last several weeks. Or if, by some miracle, I'd really heard what I thought I'd heard this morning. Jessica babbled on and on about her dance plans— Lauren and Angela had asked the other boys, and they were all going together— completely unaware of my inattention.

Disappointment flooded through me as my eyes unerringly focused on his table. The other four were there, but he was absent. Had he gone home? I hope so. I followed the quiet Bella and the still-babbling Jessica through the line, relieved though I'd lost my appetite— I bought nothing but a bottle of lemonade. I just wanted to go sit down.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you again," Jessica said, finally breaking through my abstraction with his name. "I wonder why he's sitting alone today."

My head snapped up. I followed her gaze to see Bronzy, smiling crookedly, staring at... me from an empty table across the cafeteria from where he usually sat. Once he'd caught my eye, he raised one hand and motioned with his index finger for me to join him. As I stared in disbelief, he winked.

"Please, tell me that was meant for Bella," I pleaded. Bella shook her head.

"Does he mean you?" Jessica asked with insulting astonishment in her voice.

"Maybe he needs help with his Biology homework," Bella said, for mine and Jessica's benefit. "Um, you'd better go see what he wants."

I pouted before turning on my heels. I could feel both of them staring after me as I walked away.

When I reached his table, I stood behind the chair across from him, uneasy.

"Why don't you sit with me today?" he asked, smiling.

"Why don't you ask Bella?" I retorted.

He didn't answer. I sighed and sat down reluctantly, watching him with caution. He was still smiling. It was hard to believe that someone so beautiful could be real. I was kind of hoping that he would just disappear in a sudden puff of smoke, and I would wake up.

He seemed to be waiting for me to say something.

"This is different," I finally managed.

"Well..." He paused, and then the rest of the words followed in a rush. "I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly."

I waited for him to say something that made sense. The seconds ticked by.

"You know I have no idea what you meant by that," I eventually pointed out.

"I know." He smiled again, and then he changed the subject. "I think your friends are angry with me for stealing you, especially Bella."

I rolled my eyes. "They'll survive." I could feel their stares boring into my back.

"I may not give you back, though," he said with a wicked glint in his eyes.

I gulped.

He laughed. "You look worried."

"No," I said, but, ridiculously, my voice broke. "Surprised, actually... what brought all this on?"

"I told you once before— I got tired of trying to stay away from you. So I'm giving up." He was still smiling, but his eyes were serious.

"Giving up?" I repeated.

"Yes— giving up trying to be good. I'm just going to do what I want now, and let the chips fall where they may." His smile faded as he explained, and a hard edge crept into his voice.

I shook my head. "You shouldn't give up. Be as strong as you genetically are," I said starting to get up, but his cold hand grabbed my arm and stopped me from going any further.

"Don't leave," he said softly. I pursed my lips before nodding and sitting back down. "Let's start again," he said.

I raised an eyebrow at him and waited expectantly. After a few minutes of silence, I was about to question that, but I let it go.

"How are you, Mila?" he asked me.

"I'm doing good. How about you?" I asked in response.

"Fine. Thank you for asking."

"You are welcome." Yeah, I may be thoroughly rude with him, but I do have good manners.

He just nodded after I said that. What was he thinking? I was about to get in his head but thought against it. It's rude.

"What is your favorite color?" he asked.

"Even though it's considered a shade... black," I replied. "Yours?"

"Blue and silver," he responded. I didn't expect two colors. "When is your birthday?"

I looked at him warily. "I'm not sure if I should tell you this... but I will anyway— even if I didn't, I'm pretty sure you would've figured out a way to find out, so... yeah. I was born in May, the twelfth, 1989."

He smirked, and my eyes widened. I knew I shouldn't have told him. "Edward Anthony Masen-Cullen, don't you dare whisper a word about it to your 'little' sister, because, judging by the way she is, I have no doubt that she will do something that'll literally make me pull my hair out or consider jumping off a cliff," I warned.

His smirk faltered for a second before returning even wider. "I'm not making any promises."

I scowled then nodded, taking a deep breath. "Okay... um... when's your birthday? And I mean your  _real_  one, by the way."

He grimaced. "I was born June the twentieth, 1901."

My eyes widened. "Dang," I breathed. "A hundred and four? Geez... age much?" I asked sarcastically. He chuckled. "When were you— how old were you..." 

"When I was turned?" I nodded as he gave me a soft smile. "I was seventeen, Carlisle saved me from dying from the Spanish influenza."

I immediately softened at that, though I didn't say sorry because I was pretty sure he wasn't looking for sympathy. "What's your favorite pastime?" I asked, trying to lighten up the tension.

It worked— he grinned. "Playing music and reading."

I cocked my head to the side and looked at him curiously. "You play any instruments?"

His grin widened into a dazzling crooked smile. "The piano." I beamed at him. I always wanted to see and hear a piano personally; they look and sound so nice on TV and on the radio, it's hard to resist. "Wait... how did you even know my whole name?"

I thought about it for a few seconds before shrugging. "I don't know. Sometimes I simply know things without needing time to learn them."

"Like a gift," he stated as I nodded and shrugged.

I then smirked. "What's your favorite restaurant?"

He looked caught off guard then he sighed and shook his head. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

He chuckled and shook his head again. "You are one devilish little girl."

I laughed as he smiled. "I do what I can."

After my laughter died out, there was a silence that only lasted until I noticed that the cafeteria was almost empty.

I jumped to my feet. "We're going to be late."

"I'm not going to class today," he said, twirling the lid so fast it was just a blur.

"Why not?"

"It's healthy to ditch class now and then." He smiled up at me, but his eyes were still troubled.

"Well, I'm going," I told him. I was far too big a coward to risk getting caught.

He turned his attention back to his makeshift top. "I'll see you later, then."

I hesitated, torn, but then the first bell sent me hurrying out the door— with a last glance confirming that he hadn't moved a centimeter. As I half-ran to class, my head was spinning faster than the bottle cap. So few questions had been answered in comparison to how many new questions had been raised. At least the rain had stopped.

I was lucky; Mr. Banner wasn't in the room yet when I arrived. I settled quickly into my seat, aware that Bella, Mike, and Angela were staring at me. Mike looked resentful; Angela looked surprised, and slightly awed, and Bella gave me a 'tell me what happened later' hopeful smile.

Mr. Banner came into the room then, calling the class to order. He was juggling a few small cardboard boxes in his arms. He put them down on Mike's table, telling him to start passing them around the class.

"Okay, guys, I want you all to take one piece from each box," he said as he produced a pair of rubber gloves from the pocket of his lab jacket and pulled them on. The sharp sound as the gloves snapped into place against his wrists seemed ominous to me. "The first should be an indicator card," he went on, grabbing a white card with four squares marked on it and displaying it. "The second is a four-pronged applicator—" he held up something that looked like a nearly toothless hair pick "— and the third is a sterile micro-lancet." He held up a small piece of blue plastic and split it open. The barb was invisible from this distance, but my stomach flipped.

"I'll be coming around with a dropper of water to prepare your cards, so please don't start until I get to you." He began at Mike's table again, carefully putting one drop of water in each of the four squares. "Then I want you to carefully prick your finger with the lancet..." He grabbed Mike's hand and jabbed the spike into the tip of Mike's middle finger. Oh no. Clammy moisture broke out across my forehead.

"Put a small drop of blood on each of the prongs." He demonstrated, squeezing Mike's finger till the blood flowed. I swallowed convulsively, my stomach heaving.

"And then apply it to the card," he finished, holding up the dripping red card for us to see. I closed my eyes, trying to hear through the ringing in my ears.

"The Red Cross is having a blood drive in Port Angeles next weekend, so I thought you should all know your blood type." He sounded proud of himself. "Those of you who aren't eighteen yet will need a parent's permission— I have slips at my desk."

He continued through the room with his water drops. I put my cheek against the cool black tabletop and tried to hold on to my consciousness. All around me I could hear squeals, complaints, and giggles as my classmates skewered their fingers. I breathed slowly in and out through my mouth.

"Bella, are you all right?" Mr. Banner asked. His voice was close to my head, and it sounded alarmed. I looked sideways to see Bella in the same position as me. Huh. Welcome to the club, sister.

"I already know my blood type, Mr. Banner," she said in a weak voice. I was afraid to raise my head.

"Are you feeling faint?"

"Yes, sir," she muttered. "Mila and I usually feel this way at the sight of... blood."

Mr. Banner looked at me with concern. "Are you feeling faint, Mila?"

"Yes, sir," I muttered, internally kicking myself for not ditching when I had the chance.

"Can someone take Bella and Mila to the nurse, please?" he called

I didn't have to look up to know that it would be Mike who volunteered.

"Can you walk?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Yes," Bella whispered as I muttered a 'maybe.' Just let me get out of here, I thought. I'll crawl.

Mike seemed eager as he put his arm around my waist and pulled my arm over his shoulder. I leaned against him heavily on the way out of the classroom as Bella leaned against me. I was in a much worse condition than her. She was already feeling better.

"Better, Bella?" I croaked.

"A bit," she replied weakly.

Mike towed us slowly across campus. When we were around the edge of the cafeteria, out of sight of building four in case Mr. Banner was watching, I stopped.

"Just let me sit for a minute, please?" I begged.

He helped me sit on the edge of the walk.

"And whatever you do, keep your hand in your pocket," Bella warned. I was still so dizzy. I slumped over on my side, putting my cheek against the freezing, damp cement of the sidewalk, closing my eyes. That seemed to help a little.

"Mila..." Bella trailed off, sitting down beside me and resting an arm on my lap.

"Wow, you're green, Mila," Mike said nervously.

"No, I'm not... I'm not Hulk," I mumbled then mentally face-palmed myself as I realized how stupid that sounded. "Wait... did I seriously just say that out loud?"

Bella laughed weakly. "Yeah."

"Mila?" a different voice called from a distance.

No! Please let me be imagining that horribly familiar voice.

"What's wrong— is she hurt?" another voice said as it came closer now, and he sounded upset. I wasn't imagining it. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to die. Or, at the very least, not to throw up.

Mike seemed stressed. "I think she's fainted. I don't know what happened, she didn't even stick her finger."

"Bella, are you alright?"

"I think... let's just hope I don't throw up," she muttered.

"Mila." Eddie's voice was right beside me, relieved now. "Can you hear me?"

"Oh my God, no," I groaned. "Go away, Bronzy."

He and someone else chuckled.

"I was taking them to the nurse," Mike explained in a defensive tone, "but Mila wouldn't go any farther."

"I'll take her," the other voice said. I could hear the smile still in his voice. "You can go back to class."

"No," Mike protested. "I'm supposed to do it."

Suddenly the sidewalk disappeared from beneath me. My eyes flew open in shock. Mason had scooped me up in his arms, as easily as if I weighed ten pounds instead of a hundred and ten.

"Put me down!" Please, please let me not vomit on him. He was walking before I was finished talking.

"Hey!" Mike called, already ten paces behind us.

Mason ignored him. "You look awful," he told me, grinning.

"Put me back on the sidewalk," I moaned. The rocking movement of his walk was not helping. He held me so close to his body, gingerly, supporting all my weight with just his arms— it didn't seem to bother him.

I looked behind us and saw Bronzy helping Bella, but all the while, glaring at Mason for some reason.

"So you faint at the sight of blood?" he asked. This seemed to entertain him.

I didn't answer. I closed my eyes again and fought nausea with all my strength, clamping my lips together.

"And not even your own blood," he continued, enjoying himself.

I don't know when he opened the door while carrying me, but it was suddenly warm, so I knew we were inside.

"Oh my," I heard a female voice gasp.

"She fainted in Biology, and she wasn't feeling well either," Bronzy explained.

I opened my eyes. I was in the office, and Bronzy and Massive-pain-in-the-ass were striding past the front counter toward the nurse's door. Ms. Cope, the redheaded front office receptionist, ran ahead of them to hold it open. The grandmotherly nurse looked up from a novel, astonished, as Mason swung me into the room and placed me gently on the crackly paper that covered the brown vinyl mattress on the one cot. Then he moved to stand against the wall as far across the narrow room as possible. His eyes were bright, excited

"She's just a little faint," he reassured the startled nurse. "They're blood typing in Biology."

The nurse nodded sagely. "There's always one."

"Two," Bella groaned.

The guys muffled a few snickers.

"Just lie down for a minute, honey; it'll pass."

"I know," I sighed. The nausea was already fading.

"Does this happen a lot?" she asked.

"Sometimes," Bella and I admitted. Bronzy coughed to hide another laugh. I turned my head to the side to glare at him.

"You can go back to class now," she told him and Mason who was looking at me.

"Yes, please. Go back," I moaned.

They ignored me. "We're supposed to stay with them." They said this with such assured authority that— even though she pursed her lips— the nurse didn't argue it further.

"I'll go get you some ice for your forehead, dear," she said to me, and then bustled out of the room.

"You were right," I moaned, letting my eyes close.

Bronzy chuckled. "I usually am— but about what in particular this time?"

"Ditching is healthy." I practiced breathing evenly.

"You scared me for a minute there," he admitted after a pause. His tone made it sound like he was confessing a humiliating weakness. "I thought Newton was dragging your dead bodies off to bury them in the woods."

"Ha ha." I still had my eyes closed, but I was feeling more normal every minute.

"Honestly— I've seen corpses with better color. I was concerned that I might have to avenge your murder."

"Poor Mike. I'll bet he's mad."

"He absolutely loathes me," the bronze-haired vampire said cheerfully.

"You can't know that," Bella argued.

"I saw his face— I could tell." I had to resist the urged to roll my eyes.

"How did you see us? I thought... Mila said you were ditching." I was almost fine now, though the queasiness would probably pass faster if I'd eaten something for lunch. On the other hand, maybe it was lucky my stomach was empty.

"I was in my car, listening to a CD." Such a normal response— it surprised me how good he is at lying to anyone who is oblivious to what he is.

I heard the door and opened my eyes to see the nurse with a cold compress in her hand.

"Here you go, dear." She laid it across my forehead. "You're looking better," she added.

"I think I'm fine," I said, sitting up. Just a little ringing in my ears, no spinning. The mint green walls stayed where they should.

I could see she was about to make me lie back down, but the door opened just then, and Ms. Cope stuck her head in.

"We've got another one," she warned.

I hopped down to free up the cot for the next invalid.

I handed the compress back to the nurse. "Here, I don't need this."

And then Mike staggered through the door, now supporting a sallow-looking Lee Stephens, another boy in our Biology class. Bella and I drew back against the wall beside Eddie Scissorhands and Mace Windu to give them room— yes, I've watched Star Wars and that movie with the guy who had scissors for hands. What a shocker, right?

"Oh no," Bronzy muttered. "Mila, Bella, go out to the office."

Bella looked up at him, bewildered while I, for some odd reason looked up at Mason. He was smiling at me.

"Trust me— go," Bronzy said.

I spun and caught the door before it closed, darting out of the infirmary with Bella stumbling at my heels. I could feel Eds and Massive right behind us.

"You actually listened to me." He was stunned.

"I smelled the blood," Bella said as I wrinkled my nose at the scent. Lee wasn't sick from watching other people, like Bella and I.

"People can't smell blood," he contradicted.

"Well, we can— that's what makes us sick," I said. "It smells like rust... and salt."

He was staring at me with an unfathomable expression.

"What?" I asked.

"It's nothing."

Mike came through the door then, glancing from me to Bronzy. The look he gave Bronzy confirmed what the mind reader had said about loathing. He looked back at me, his eyes glum.

"You look better," he accused.

"Just keep your hand in your pocket," I warned him again.

"It's not bleeding anymore," he muttered. "Are you going back to class?"

"Are you kidding? We'd just have to turn around and come back."

"Yeah, I guess... So are you going this weekend? To the beach?" While he spoke, he flashed another glare toward the supernaturals, who were standing against the cluttered counter, motionless as a sculpture, staring off into space.

I tried to sound as friendly as possible. "Sure, we said we were in."

"We're meeting at my dad's store, at ten." His eyes flickered to the vamps again, wondering if he was giving out too much information. His body language made it clear that it wasn't an open invitation.

"We'll be there," Bella promised.

"I'll see you in Gym, then," he said to me, moving uncertainly toward the door.

"See you," I replied. He looked at me once more, his round face slightly pouting, and then as he walked slowly through the door, his shoulders slumped. A swell of sympathy washed over me. I pondered seeing his disappointed face again... in Gym.

"Gym," I groaned.

"I don't want to stay," Bella agreed.

"I can take care of that." I hadn't noticed Bronzy moving to my side, but he spoke now in my ear. "Go sit down and look pale," he muttered.

That wasn't a challenge; I was always pale, and my recent swoon had left a light sheen of sweat on my face. I grabbed Bella's arm, and we sat in two of the creaky folding chairs and resting my head against the wall with my eyes closed as Bella rested her head against my shoulder.

Fainting spells always exhausted me.

I heard Bronzy speaking softly at the counter. "Ms. Cope?"

"Yes?" I hadn't heard her return to her desk.

"Mila... and Bella have Gym next hour, and I don't think they feel well enough. Actually, I was thinking I should take them home now. Do you think you could excuse them from class?" His voice was like melting honey. I could imagine how much more overwhelming his eyes would be.

"Do you need to be excused, too?" Ms. Cope fluttered. Why couldn't I do that?

Mason spoke up this time. "No, got Mrs. Goff, she won't mind."

"Okay, it's all taken care of. You feel better, girls," she called to us. I nodded weakly, hamming it up just a bit.

"Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you again?" With his back to the receptionist, his expression became sarcastic.

"I'll walk."

I stood carefully, and I was still fine but groaned when Mason took the liberty to wrap an arm around my waist. Bronzy held the door for us, his smile polite to Bella and me but his eyes cold to Mason. What is wrong between those two? I walked out into the cold, fine mist that had just begun to fall. It felt nice— the first time I'd enjoyed the constant moisture falling out of the sky— as it washed my face clean of the sticky perspiration.

"Thanks," I said as he followed us out. "It's almost worth getting sick to miss Gym."

"Anytime." He was staring straight forward, squinting into the rain.

Bella spoke this time. "So are you going? This Saturday, I mean?" I was hoping he wouldn't, though it seemed unlikely that he would. I couldn't picture him loading up to carpool with the rest of the kids from school; he didn't belong in the same world. Literally.

"Where are you all going, exactly?" He was still looking ahead, expressionless.

"Down to La Push, to First Beach." I studied his face, trying to read it. His eyes seemed to narrow infinitesimally.

He glanced down at me from the corner of his eye, smiling wryly. "I really don't think I was invited."

Bella sighed. "I just invited you."

"Let's you and I not push poor Mike any further this week. We don't want him to snap." His eyes danced; he was enjoying the idea more than he should.

I rolled my eyes. "Mike-schmike," I muttered.

We were near the parking lot now. I pulled away from Mason and veered left, toward the woods as Bella went towards her truck. Something caught my jacket, yanking me back.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, outraged. He was gripping a fistful of my jacket in one hand.

I looked at Bella who was in the same position as me, looking slightly confused. "I'm going home," she answered before looking at me. She glared and crossed her arms over her chest. "Where are you going?"

I shrugged. "The woods."

"Didn't you hear me promise to take you safely home? Do you think I'm going to let you drive in your condition?" Bronzy's voice was still indignant.

"I can take her," Mason snarled.

"Bella, go home. I need some fresh air and some time  _alone_ ," I said to her before pulling away. She nodded and came to give me a hug. I hugged her back and gave her my bag before running off into the trees.

"Mila!"

I sighed and shook my head. "Please don't, Mason," was the last thing I said before disappearing into the forest.


	9. Shifter

"GOD DAMMIT!" I cried out.

It had happened, I got lost in the woods! Where some god damned vampires could come up and say 'dinner time!' with me singing 'Never smile at the crocodile.'

I was climbing over a dead log when I heard a twig snap to the left, swerving my head to the sound, I only saw the rustle of the bush and a shadow disappearing.

"Ah, damn it," I muttered. I gave my bag to Bella.

I knew better than to go and find out what the noise was, so I went on my way but kept my guard up if that thing decided that I looked good enough to eat.

As I wandered through the woods, I started thinking the strangest things— random things I'd never given a thought to, before.

 _Does garlic really rebel vampires? What about crosses? Holy water? A church?_ I thought as I ducked under a branch.

_If they exist... what about the other supernatural beings? Do werewolves, witches and fairies exist too? I mean, shape-shifters already do, so they should too… right?_

I smiled. "This means... I don't know what, but from the smile on my face, something wonderful will happen! I hope..."

At that moment, something crashed through the bushes behind me and landed in front of me snarling. My eyes widened in shock and awe.

It was a wolf... a huge ass wolf, a wolf the size of either a horse or a bear, I didn't know. What I did know, was that it was terrifyingly beautiful.

Its fur was... brown, a brownish gold, and even though I knew not to, I looked into its eyes. Before I was able to, I heard more wolves howling in mind, though I guess it wasn't just in my mind since the wolf looked towards the sound and looked back at me, snarling as it did before. I backed up into a rock, my breathing short and coming out like steam in the cold air.

The wolf got into a crouching position, looking as if ready to tear me apart when another huge wolf smacked into the brown wolf. It was bigger than the brown one and had auburn-colored fur; the two wolves tumbled over each other heading into the darkness of the wood. I, still in shock, slowly went down the rock and landed with a plop on the ground, shivering as I hugged my knees to my chest.

Dang it! I didn't know there were shifters in this region!

A warm hand suddenly descended onto my head, I snapped my head up with a gasp, it was a boy... okay no, it was a man.

Of course, the man in front of me probably thought I was still in shock, so he picked me up bridal style, whispering to me that I was going to be okay. Of course, that didn't help, I was still internally freaking out.

I was too distracted by the fact that a half-naked native man was taking me somewhere. That snapped me back from my argument.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked. "How did you find me?"

"I was out on a run when I heard something roaming around. And then I saw you, and you seemed to be in shock, so I'm taking you to the police station into town," the man said in a deep voice that made me shiver. "What were you doing out here alone?"

"I was going home," I lied. "But as you can see, I have no sense of direction, and you, Mister native man whom I oddly find good-looking, haven't introduced yourself."

During this whole thing, the dude went from shaking like a rattlesnake tail to raising an eyebrow, to raising them both but with a smug smirk added to it.

"My name is Jason Wolf," he introduced himself.

I laughed. "Funny how a wolf's last name is Wolf."

He stopped dead and froze. "What did you say?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, cut the crap. I know you're a shapeshifter. You're the red wolf."

"How... how did you know?"

"I might've been in shock, but I know more than most people do, or in our case, more than supernaturals do."

He bored his hazel eyes into mine. "What are you?" he whispered.

I looked down at my hands and frowned. "I never knew. Things have happened to me, but I never got the chance to find someone who knows what I am without trying to get me killed even though I can't die." I don't know for how long we stayed there, but I didn't want to move. This was comforting.

"What's your name?"

I looked up at him. "Milarayne Williams, but I go by Mila."

He stared at me with his big hazelnut eyes for what seemed like forever, and I somehow started to feel drawn to him in a way I didn't really like.

"You're... so... beautiful," he whispered.

My breathing hitched. "Er... thanks... now if you don't mind, I'm just going to pass out."

And so I did, last hearing the rumble of a chuckle from the man that was carrying me as the world fell into darkness.

I woke up in my room, the lights off. I turned on my lamp and literally fell off my bed when I saw him standing right on the edge of it.

"Give me a heart attack, why don't you?" I said sarcastically, clutching my chest as I tried to slow down my breathing.

Mason chuckled. "Sorry," he said softly. I sat up and crossed my legs, Indian style.

"What are you doing here?"

_"He's here to kill you!"_

_"Ha! Say goodbye, little girl!"_

Okay, listen up you stupid little demons. Shut up!

In a blur, he was right in front of me, his face, inches from mine. He seemed to study my expression before grabbing my wrist and turned so he could put me on his back and started climbing out my window.

"Hold on, koala bear," he said, as he climbed.

"Do I have a choice?" I asked in annoyance.

He laughed. "Not really," replied before jumping.

He ran through the forest in his vampire speed. I closed my eyes, annoyed that I kept getting stuck in these kinds of moments. After what seemed like forever, he stopped and put me down. I was kind of dizzy, so I grabbed onto him to steady myself, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. I then look around for the first time tonight. We were standing on top of a... tree. A really big tree in the middle of the damn forest.

I looked at him. "Why did you bring me up here?"

"Because this is the only place you wouldn't run away," he replied with a sheepish smile.

I groaned. "Because this is the only place I can't run away without falling to my death."

He inched his face closer to mine. "I would never let you fall, love."

I laughed humorlessly. "I don't always need a tree to fall."

He smiled kindly. "I'd catch you," he whispered. 

My heart flipped. "Why? Why me?" I whispered back.

He got closer, his lips played a playful grin as well as his eyes as his face came nose to nose with me.

"You interest me, you had threatened vampires, with no fear. I have never been threatened by little girls like you, but I saw in his mind the way you threatened him, and I saw the way you threatened the others," he said. 

"Okay, first thing's first, I didn't threaten them, I just warned them. Second of all, I'm not little! I'm two feet taller than Bella, four months older than her, and I'm not a child!" I defended myself.

"No, you're not a child," he got a little closer. "Not even close."

My heart was pounding in my ears, I tried to slow down my heart, but it only quickened. 

He smiled in amusement.

Dang it, he can hear it.

"T-take me back. Bella might be wondering where I am," I excused myself and was ready to move away when he put his arms on each side of me, caging me

His tiger eyes searched mine with such curiosity and made me feel extremely weird, so I said the first that got into my mind.

"Hey... what do you think is up with Eddie boy? He acts so cold and like he wants to hurl every time he sees Bella?" I asked, putting my hands on his chest, trying to push him away. "He has been very rude to her, and I was wondering what his problem is."

Mason's eyes darkened. "Maybe he simply has a weird way of showing that he likes girls, I mean don’t all boys act rude or strange to the girl he likes?" 

I raised an eyebrow. "I don’t know Mason you tell me, I'm not a boy." 

He chuckled. "Well I wouldn’t really know, after all, I'm a man, not a boy." 

"You may be a man physically and in age, but you are somewhat still a teenager, Mason," I said.

Mason looked down at me and leaned in closer till his face was centimeters from mine.

"Mila," his voice purred my name once he was close enough to my face. 

Now my heart practically jumping out of my chest.

"You are one hell of a woman," he said. "I'll be jealous of the one who takes you away." 

And with that, he crashed his lips onto mine. 

I pulled away quickly looking up at him with eyes widened. 

His eyes shined brightly as he grinned. "Well, at least I got your first kiss." 

I looked at him in shock as my heart raced. That's what a kiss is like? I never had one before, so I never knew. 

"Ma— you just— we're here— because— why?" 

He smiled, caressing my cheek. "Since the day you fell into my arms. That was the day I fell in love with you. Milarayne Rayla Aliska Blaze Williams, I am insanely and unconditionally in love with you." 

"Y-you... what?" I choked out. 

"I'm in love with you, Mila. I love you. You are my world," he whispered.

I couldn't look away from him anymore. This feeling was bigger than what I used to feel for  _him_. This was real, and now that I knew it, I want it, and I'm not letting go anytime soon.

"Kiss me, Mason," I said.

And, immediately, he obliged without hesitation.


	10. The beach

I wasn't looking forward to Friday, and it more than lived up to my non-existent expectations. Of course, the fainting comments flew around; Jessica especially seemed to get a kick out of that story. Luckily Mike had kept his mouth shut, and no one seemed to know about Bronzy and  Massive-pain-in-the-ass's involvement.

She did have a lot of questions about that lunchtime spent with Eduardo, though.

"So what did Edward Cullen want yesterday?" Jessica asked in Trig. 

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "He never really got to the point."

"You looked kind of mad," she fished.

"Did I?" I kept my expression blank. 

"You know, I've never seen him sit with anyone but his family before. That was weird." 

"Weird," I agreed.

She seemed annoyed; she flipped her dark curls impatiently— I guessed she'd been hoping to hear something that would make a good story for her to pass on. I didn't really care anymore, all I cared about was Mason— wait, what? 

I missed him— _wait, what?_

When I walked into the cafeteria with Bella, Jessica, and Mike, I couldn't keep from looking at the door, waiting for him to appear with that devious grin of his. And I couldn't stop the gloom that engulfed me as I realized I didn't know how long I would have to wait before I saw him again; he said he'd be gone a week… but then again, people say a lot of things they end up not actually meaning.

At my usual table, everyone was full of our plans for the next day. Mike was animated again, putting a great deal of trust in the local weatherman who promised sun tomorrow. I'd have to see that before I believed it. But it was warmer today— almost sixty. Maybe the outing wouldn't be completely miserable.

That night at dinner, Charlie seemed enthusiastic about our trip to La Push in the morning. I think he felt guilty for leaving us home alone on the weekends, but he'd spent too many years building his habits to break them now. Of course, he knew the names of all the kids going, and their parents, and their great-grandparents, too, probably.

He seemed to approve.

"Dad, do you know a place called Goat Rocks or something like that? I think it's south of Mount Rainier," Bella asked casually.

"Yeah— why?" 

She shrugged. "Some kids were talking about camping there."

"It's not a very good place for camping." He sounded surprised. "Too many bears. Most people go there during the hunting season."

"Oh," she murmured. "Maybe I got the name wrong." 

I meant to sleep in, but an unusual brightness of the day woke me. I opened my eyes to see a clear yellow light streaming through my window. I couldn't believe it. I hurried to the window to check, and sure enough, there was the sun. It was in the wrong place in the sky, too low, and it didn't seem to be as close as it should be, but it was definitely the sun. Clouds ringed the horizon, but a large patch of blue was visible in the middle.

I lingered by the window as long as I could, afraid that if I left the blue would disappear again.

The Newtons' Olympic Outfitters store was just north of town. I'd seen the store, but I'd never stopped there— not having much need for any supplies required for being outdoors over an extended period of time. In the parking lot, I recognized Mike's Suburban and Tyler's Sentra.

As Bella pulled up next to their vehicles, I could see the group standing around in front of the Suburban. Eric was there, along with two other boys I had class with; I was fairly sure their names were Ben and Conner. Jess was there, flanked by Angela and Lauren. Three other girls stood with them, including one whom apparently Bella had fallen over in Gym on Friday. That one gave her a dirty look as we got out of the truck, and whispered something to Lauren. Lauren shook out her corn silk hair and eyed me scornfully.

So it was going to be one of those days.

At least Mike was happy to see us.

"You came!" he called, delighted. "And I said it would be sunny today, didn't I?"

"We did say we were coming," Bella reminded him.

"We're just waiting for Lee and Samantha... unless you invited someone," Mike added.

"Nope," Bella lied lightly, hoping she wouldn't get caught in the lie. Mike looked satisfied.

"Will you ride in my car? It's that or Lee's mom's minivan."

"Sure."

He smiled blissfully. It was so easy to make Mike happy.

"You can have shotgun," he promised, aiming that last bit at me.

I bit my lip in an attempt to hide my chagrin. It wasn't as simple to make Mike and Jessica happy at the same time. I could see Jessica glowering at me now.

The numbers worked out in my favor, though. Lee brought two extra people, and suddenly every seat was necessary. I managed to wedge Jess in between Mike and me in the front seat of the Suburban. Mike could have been more graceful about it, but at least Jess seemed appeased.

It was only fifteen miles to La Push from Forks, with gorgeous, dense green forests edging the road most of the way and the wide Quileute River snaking beneath it twice. I was glad I had the window seat. We'd rolled the windows down— the Suburban was a bit claustrophobic with nine people in it— and I tried to absorb as much sunlight as possible.

It was still breathtaking. The water was dark gray, even in the sunlight, white-capped, and heaving to the gray, rocky shore. Islands rose out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching to uneven summits, and crowned with austere, soaring firs. The beach had only a thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, after which it grew into millions of large, smooth stones that looked uniformly gray from a distance, but close up were every shade a stone could be: terra-cotta, sea green, lavender, blue gray, dull gold. The tide line was strewn with huge driftwood trees, bleached bone white in the salt waves, some piled together against the edge of the forest fringe, some lying solitary, just out of reach of the waves.

There was a brisk wind coming off the waves, cool and briny. Pelicans floated on the swells while seagulls and a lone eagle wheeled above them. The clouds still circled the sky, threatening to invade at any moment, but for now, the sun shone bravely in its halo of blue sky.

We picked our way down to the beach, Mike leading the way to a ring of driftwood logs that had obviously been used for parties like ours before. There was a fire circle already in place, filled with black ashes. Eric and the boy I thought was named Ben gathered broken branches of driftwood from the drier piles against the forest edge, and soon had a teepee-shaped construction built atop the old cinders.

"Have you ever seen a driftwood fire?" Mike asked me.

Bella and I were sitting on one of the bone-colored benches; the other girls clustered, gossiping excitedly, on either side of us. Mike kneeled by the fire, lighting one of the smaller sticks with a cigarette lighter.

"No," Bella and I said as he placed the blazing twig carefully against the teepee.

"You'll like this then— watch the colors." He lit another small branch and laid it alongside the first. The flames started to lick quickly up the dry wood.

"It's blue," I said in awe. I love blue. I don't really know why, but other than black and now emerald green, blue has become my favorite color.

"The salt does it. Pretty, isn't it?"

He lit one more piece, placed it where the fire hadn't yet caught, and then came to sit by me. Thankfully, Jess was on his other side. She turned to him and claimed his attention. I watched the strange blue and green flames crackle toward the sky.

After a half hour of chatter, some of the boys wanted to hike to the nearby tidal pools. It was a dilemma; I wanted to go— I've never been hiking so I wanted to experience it at least once in my life— but Bella didn't want to, because of her clumsiness.  

Lauren was the one who made the decision for us. She didn't want to hike, and she was definitely wearing the wrong shoes for it. Most of the other girls besides Angela and Jessica decided to stay on the beach as well. I waited until Tyler and Eric had committed to remaining with them before I got up quietly to join the pro-hiking group. Bella decided to come because she didn't want to stay with the other girls. Mike gave us a huge smile when he saw that we were coming.

The hike wasn't too long, though I hated to lose the sky in the woods. The green light of the forest was strangely at odds with the adolescent laughter, too murky and ominous to be in harmony with the light banter around me. I had to watch each step I took very carefully, avoiding roots below and branches above, and I soon fell behind. Eventually, I broke through the emerald confines of the forest and found the rocky shore again. It was low tide, and a tidal river flowed past us on its way to the sea. Along its pebbled banks, shallow pools that never completely drained were teeming with life.

I felt suddenly very confident here as I was in contact with nature in a way I had never been before. Bella, on the other hand, was very cautious not to lean too far over the little ocean ponds. The others were as fearless as I was, leaping over the rocks, perching precariously on the edges. I found a very stable-looking rock on the fringe of one of the largest pools and sat there cautiously, spellbound by the natural aquarium below me.  

The bouquets of brilliant anemones undulated ceaselessly in the invisible current, twisted shells scurried about the edges, obscuring the crabs within them, starfish stuck motionless to the rocks and each other, while one small black eel with white racing stripes wove through the bright green weeds, waiting for the sea to return. I was completely absorbed, except for one small part of my mind that wondered what Mason was doing now and trying to imagine what he would be saying if he were here with me.

Finally, the boys were hungry, and I got up and linked my arm with Bella's as we followed them back. I tried to keep up, but it was hard with Bella clinging to me through the woods, so naturally, I fell with her a few times. I got some shallow scrapes on my palms, and the knees of my jeans were stained green, but it could have been worse.

When we got back to First Beach, the group we'd left behind had multiplied.

"Holy Zeus... how many are we now?" I muttered.

As we got closer, we could see the shining, straight black hair and copper skin of the newcomers, teenagers from the reservation come to socialize.

The food was already being passed around, and the boys hurried to claim a share while Eric introduced us as we each entered the driftwood circle. Bella, Angela and I were the last to arrive, and, as Eric said our names, I noticed a younger boy sitting on the stones near the fire glance up at Bella with recognition then look at me in interest. I sat down between Bella and Angela, and Mike brought us sandwiches.

"Where are the sodas?" he suddenly asked.

"Ah, crap! They blew during our trip here," Eric said, bringing out the ruined array of sodas.

"I think there's a convenience store not too far from here," said Angela.

"I can go," I offered.

It was but a ten-minute walk to the road, and if the convenience store wasn't so far away, I could easily make it to and back in half an hour, maybe less if I could get someone to lend me their wheels.

"You don't got wheels."

"Yeah… I was sorta hoping that wouldn't be an issue," I muttered before looking up at them, a hopeful look adorning my gaze. "Maybe one of you can lend me yours?"

"Do you even have a driver's license?" Lauren asked me.

I shrugged one shoulder. "No. That still doesn't mean I don't know how to drive."

Suddenly, my hand shot up, catching something flying my way. I looked down to see what it was and felt my brows shoot up in surprise as I shifted my eyes toward Lee.

"Don't know you well, but you look honest," he told me, shrugging as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

I chuckled in spite of myself. "You're gonna trust me because I look honest?"

Lee chuckled, shaking his head. "Nah, I'm giving you my trust because you look like you could use some of it."

The bit of smile that had previously curled onto my lips instantly flattened out as I made my way toward his mom's minivan, feeling utterly baffled.

It took me but a moment to pull my focus back onto the task at hand, and true to my calculations, I was able to make it to the first convenience store in site within less than ten minutes after having acquainted myself with the minivan's engine which was much newer than Bella's 1960-something old truck.

Taking in the refreshing cool air from the store and appreciating the fact that it didn't carry that dead-fish smell many food-selling stores had, I leisurely made my way down the isles, looking for the one withholding all the drinks. I would've asked the clerk upon coming in, but he seemed otherwise occupied, whipping his long hair back and forth to the beat of a heavy metal song.

At a certain point, I slowed my pace even further, coming to a halt when I noticed a type of snack I hadn't ever really seen before. There were two flavors of it: Plain and BBQ.

_What in Hades is BBQ?_

"Greetings and salutations."

I spun on my heels, coming face to face with that guy in the trench coat I had noticed the other day. I studied him for a moment, taking in his dark attire that didn't seem to go at all with his round, childish features and seemingly innocent-looking eyes. I observed him a moment longer, considering the endearing smirk etching across his face as he, too, seemingly studied me.

He was timidly teasing and yet straightforward. Fidgety and yet overly calm— it was light it was a resulting mixture of everything opposing… well, everything. There was no actual way to describe him other than the slightly creepy yet attractive kid in the trench coat, though 'kid' may be a bit of an exaggeration; he was probably about a year younger than me, or maybe even seventeen as well.

"'Greetings and salutations'?" I asked, a small smile inevitably curling onto my lips upon recalling his strange greeting.

The boy shrugged nonchalantly. "An idiom I'm quite fond of," he replied before nodding his head toward the snack I was holding. "You going to pull a Big Gulp with that?"

I looked down at the bag in hand— Corn-nuts, they were called, and I had absentmindedly grabbed the BBQ-flavored one. I squinted my eyes slightly, then nodded to myself, appraising the abbreviation; stands for Barbecue.

"No," I replied. I looked back at him and returned the smirk he sent my way as I teased right back at him, "But if you're nice, I'll let you buy me a Slurpee."

The boy chuckled, taking a sip of his own drink— a blueberry-flavored Slurpee. "That's like going to Mickey D's to order a salad. Name's Jason Dean, but you can call me JD." He nodded my way and asked, "Got a name?"

I felt myself smirk again as I noticed his eyes flash silver for a moment… like mine. Huh, maybe I'm not alone after all.

"I do," was my only answer before I returned my focus back to the task I had come to perform in the first place.

I rounded a corner and finally found the drinks' aisle. There was a large array of sodas to choose from and having not really tasted many in my time out of the institution, I chose those I was most familiar with; Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up— all that jig.

I struggled a little bit as I hauled three cases containing twelve cans each and headed to the cash at the front. The man having a seemingly good time smiled bashfully at being caught going crazy to the music and began to scan my items. Asking him to wait a moment longer, I rushed back to the aisle with the Corn-nuts and grabbed two more packs of it, another BBQed flavored and one plain.

When the clerk rang me up and I paid for everything, I slid my arm through the handle of the bag with the snacks till it hung from my elbow before reaching for the drinks, coming to a halt midway when the JD guy grabbed two of them.

I raised a brow at him as I grabbed the third one and shifted my weight one leg, my left hip jutting out as I waited for an explanation.

"It would be considered dreadful etiquette from my part if I left a nice lady fend for herself."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Right, uh-huh, and who's gonna take your drink?"

I watched, amused, as he paused for a moment, clearly reconsidering his actions. "I… I did not think that through."

I let myself giggle softly as I grabbed his drink for him and let him follow me to the exit.

We were silent for a moment, after I closed the trunk of the minivan, before I dared myself to look at him more closely, narrowing my eyes at him. "Why do I get the feeling that I should stay as far away from you as I possibly can… 'cause you're the kinda guy who would pull very… _extreme_ stunts?"

He smirked. "The extreme always makes an impression, but you're right, I wouldn't put it past me to pull something pretty severe. Did you say a Strawberry or Coke Slurpee?"

I chuckled again as I absentmindedly followed him back to the store. _Smooth_. "I didn't. Strawberry," I answered anyway.

Before long, we were standing outside again, by what I could only assume was his ride, strawberry and blueberry Slurpee in hand.

"Nice ride," I complimented the motorcycle.

JD shrugged. "Just a humble perk from my Dad's Construction company or should I say Deconstruction company?"

I narrowed my eyes at him once more, this time a little more playfully rather than appraising. "I don't know. Should you?"

JD smirked slightly. "My father seems to enjoy tearing things down more than putting things up. Seen the commercial? 'Bringing every State to a Higher State.'"

I huffed slightly in surprise. "Jason Dean… big guy's Big Bud Dean Construction," I voiced my realization. "Must be rough. Moving place to place."

"Everybody's life's got static. Is your life perfect?"

I snorted, running a hand through my hair. "Not by a long shot. Didn't even have parents who cared enough to save some money for my college education." I furrowed my brows and scrunched my nose as I then muttered another realization, "Which makes me realize I should probably get a job…"

"Maybe a little vacation will clear out a couple'a things."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Not likely. Welp," I said with finality, "I better budge outta here. Got some people waiting for me down the road— already spent longer than I was meant to. Thanks for the Slurpee, tall, dark and trench-coated man," I added, lifting my cup before turning on my heels and making my way back toward Lee's mom's minivan, smirking slightly to myself as I heard the boy's faint chuckle.

"You ever gonna tell me your name?" he called after me.

Glancing over my shoulder, I let my smirk widen upon our gaze meeting once more. "If we meet some other time, maybe I'll let you in on who I am."

With that said, I climbed into the vehicle, started the engine, then, within less than ten minutes I was back where the others were parked. I opened the trunk and let the others help themselves from the array of sodas to choose displayed before us, while a boy who looked to be the oldest of the new additions to the group rattled off the names of the seven others with him. All I caught was that one of the girls was also named Jessica, and the boy who noticed me was named Jacob.

It was relaxing to sit with Angela; she was a restful kind of person to be around— she didn't feel the need to fill every silence with chatter. She left me free to think undisturbed while we ate. And I was thinking about how disjointedly time seemed to flow in Forks, passing in a blur at times, with single images standing out more clearly than others. And then, at other times, every second was significant, etched in my mind. I knew exactly what caused the difference, and it disturbed me.

During lunch the clouds started to advance, slinking across the blue sky, darting in front of the sun momentarily, casting long shadows across the beach, and blackening the waves. As they finished eating, people started to drift away in twos and threes. Some walked down to the edge of the waves, trying to skip rocks across the choppy surface. Others were gathering a second expedition to the tide pools. Mike— with Jessica shadowing him— headed up to the one shop in the village. Some of the local kids went with them; others went along on the hike. By the time they all had scattered, I was sitting alone with Bella on my driftwood log, with Lauren and Tyler occupying themselves by the CD player someone had thought to bring, and three teenagers from the reservation perched around the circle, including the boy named Jacob and the oldest boy who had acted as spokesperson.

A few minutes after Angela left with the hikers and I scooted over pulling Bella along just as Jacob sauntered over to take the free place on her other side. He looked fourteen, maybe fifteen, and had long, glossy black hair pulled back with a rubber band at the nape of his neck. His skin was beautiful, silky and russet-colored; his eyes were dark, set deep above the high planes of his cheekbones. He still had just a hint of childish roundness left around his chin. Altogether, a very pretty face. However, my positive opinion of his looks was damaged by the first words out of his mouth.

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" he asked Bella.

 _Ha!_ It was like the first day of school all over again.

"Bella," she sighed.

"I'm Jacob Black. You bought my dad's truck."

"Oh," she said. "You're Billy's son. I probably should remember you."

"No, I'm the youngest of the family— you would remember my older sisters."

"Rachel and Rebecca," she suddenly recalled. "Are they here?" she examined the girls at the ocean's edge, maybe wondering if she would recognize them now.

"No." Jacob shook his head. "Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State, and Rebecca married a Samoan surfer— she lives in Hawaii now."

"Married. Wow." Bella seemed really stunned. I looked away from them and stared off at the water, the waves crashing against the shore, feeling my thoughts drift back to the boy from the convenience store.

"So how do you like the truck?" he asked.

"I love it. It runs great," Bella replied.

"Yeah, but it's really slow," he laughed. "I was so relieved when Charlie bought it. My dad wouldn't let me work on building another car when we had a perfectly good vehicle right there."

"It's not that slow," she objected.

"Have you tried to go over sixty?"

"No," she admitted.

"Good. Don't." He grinned.

"It does great in a collision," she offered in her truck's defense.

"I don't think a tank could take out that old monster," he agreed with another laugh.

I looked back in interest. "So, you build cars?" I blurted out, unable to contain how impressed I was that this boy knew as much as he seemingly did.

He looked over at me and beamed. "When I have free time, and parts. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on a master cylinder for a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit?" he added jokingly. He had a pleasant, husky voice.

I smiled. "Sorry," I laughed, "I haven't seen any lately, but I'll keep my eyes open for you." I've never seen one, but hopefully, I will, one day. He was very easy to talk to.

"I'm Jacob Black." He held his hand out in a friendly gesture.

"Nice to meet you, Jacob. I'm Milarayne Williams, but I go by Mila," I said, shaking his sleek hand. "I'm Bella's godsister."

"Yeah. She lives with my dad and I," Bella said with a happy smile.

Jacob flashed a brilliant smile, looking at me appreciatively in a way I was learning to recognize. I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"You know Bella, Jacob?" Lauren asked— in what I imagined was an insolent tone— from across the fire.

"We've sort of known each other since I was born," he laughed, smiling at me again.

I just realized he was still holding my hand. My eyes widened, and I quickly pulled it away, shoving it into the pocket of my sweater, feeling my cheeks suddenly heat up a tad bit.

"How nice." She didn't sound like she thought it was nice at all, and her pale, fishy eyes narrowed.

"Bella," she called again, watching Bella's face carefully, "I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?" Her expression of concern was unconvincing.

"You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" the tall, older boy asked before I could respond, much to Lauren's irritation. He was really closer to a man than a boy, and his voice was very deep.

"Yes, do you know them?" she asked condescendingly, turning halfway toward him.

"The Cullens don't come here."

Yeah, 'cause that doesn't make anyone any more curious on this very suspicious and skeptical-rendering subject and response— he spoke in a tone that closed the subject, ignoring her question.

Tyler, trying to win back her attention, asked Lauren's opinion on a CD he held. She was _instantly_ distracted.

I stared at the deep-voiced boy, taken aback, but he was looking away toward the dark forest behind us. He'd said that the Cullens didn't come here, but his tone had implied something more— that they weren't allowed; they were prohibited. Maybe they had done a treaty or something like that? His manner left a strange impression on me, and I tried to ignore it without success.

Jacob interrupted my meditation. "So, is Forks driving you insane yet?"

"Oh, I'd say that's an understatement." Bella grimaced.

"A big understatement," I added, mirroring her grimace. He grinned understandingly. "So, you're, what, sixteen?" I asked.

"I just turned fifteen," he confessed, flattered.

"Really?" My face was full of surprise. "I would have thought you were older." Kid is tall as the flames of Tartarus… I would assume… I don't actually _even_ know if the place is real… why am I even mentioning it then? Whatever…

"I'm tall for my age," he explained.

Well, would you look at that; even he sees it.

"Do you come up to Forks much?" Bella asked archly. Jesus, she sounded idiotic.

"Not too much," he admitted with a frown. "But when I get my car finished I can go up as much as I want— after I get my license," he amended.

"Who was that other boy Lauren was talking to? He seemed a little old to be hanging out with us." I purposefully lumped myself in with the youngsters, trying to make it clear that I preferred Jacob; frankly, I do anyway.

"That's Sam— he's nineteen," he informed me.

"What was that he was saying about the doctor's family?" I asked innocently.

"The Cullens? Oh, they're not supposed to come onto the reservation." He looked away, out toward James Island, as he confirmed what I'd thought I'd heard in Sam's voice.

"Ah," was all I replied.

I was still turning over the brief comment on the Cullens, but I decided to let it go. Bella, on the other hand, gave me a look saying that she had just had a sudden inspiration. I'm guessing it was a stupid plan, but then again, it's Bella, she ever really had any great ideas.

"Do you want to walk down the beach with me?" Bella asked, and I had to fight back the urge to laugh as she tried to imitate that way Bronzy had of looking up from underneath his eyelashes. It couldn't have nearly the same effect, I was sure, but Jacob shrugged and jumped up willingly enough, though looking at me.

I felt myself flush at the sudden attention. "Er... I'm going to go..." I trailed off, not sure how to finish my sentence. Jacob's face slightly fell in... disappointment?

"Where?" Bella asked.

"I'm going home," I replied. Obviously.

"But no one's leaving yet. You don't have a ride," she protested. "I don't think Lee's gonna offer his mom's minivan to be left stranded here…"

I rolled my eyes. "Bells, there's a thing called walking. That's what I'm gonna to do."

"You're going to walk home?! That's like sixteen miles from here! You'll get lost."

"I've been roaming a lot through the woods since I got here; and I haven't gotten lost once," I lied smoothly, remembering the day I was found by that Jason dude… the other Jason… the hot, dark-skinned one. Maybe I'll see him again?

Bella frowned, but it instantly loosened up when I pulled her into a side-hug. "Relax. I'll be fine. And if I get lost, I'll just feed myself some poisonous berries and wait for a grizzly bear to find me, so it would show me my way back home!" I lightly teased.

"Mila!"

"I'm kidding! I'll be fine! I'll see you at home."

"Mila! Are you coming?" Mike called from about fifty yards away.

"No! You guys go ahead!" I called back and smiled as Jessica flashed me an appreciative smile.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Jacob asked, alerted by the jealous edge in Mike's voice. I was surprised it was so obvious.

"No, _definitely_ not," I whispered.

"So, when I get my license..." he began.

"You should _definitely_ come see me... er... I mean us, in Forks. We could hang out sometime."

I felt guilty as I said this, knowing I probably wouldn't even bother paying him any attention unless Bella asked me to. But I really did like Jacob. He was someone I could easily be friends with.

He grinned. "Then it was nice to meet you," Jacob said.

I smiled at him. "It really was. Next time Charlie comes down to see Billy, we'll come, too," I promised.

His grin stretched across his face. "That would be cool."

"And thanks," I added earnestly. Now all I have to do is ask Bronzy about their connection with the Quileutes.

I pulled up my hood and tramped across the rocks toward the parking lot before turning left and running off into the woods. A few drops were beginning to fall, making black spots on the stones where they landed. 

I had been in here for a while, but I loved it. I felt so free and I really didn't want to go back, but I had to. After a few more minutes, I slowed my run into a jog, before I was walking at a normal pace.

"You shouldn't be wandering off on your own, Silver," said the voice I had been yearning to hear for the past week.

"You shouldn't be sneaking up on people like that, Curious George," I replied before smiling as I felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around my waist from behind me.

He kissed my neck, making me shiver. "I missed you, Miles," he murmured.

I smirked. "Of course, you did. I'm just that irresistible."

He growled playfully as he spun me around in his arms, so I was facing him. "You play unfair, princess."

"I know. But I'm not a princess," I said darkly. "I'm a demon," I whispered brokenly, resting my head on his chest.

He pulled my chin up so I would look him in the eyes. "No, you're not. Mila, you might thoroughly act like a devilish little girl, but you're not a demon," he protested.

"Mason…"

"Mmm?"

"Kiss me," I whispered softly.

Slowly and carefully he leaned in, the hand that was holding my chin up found its way to the side of my face where he tucked away strands of my hair behind my ear. His lips finally made contact with mine, the feeling being indescribable as he passionately locked his lips with mine deepening the kiss until our lungs begged for air.

My hands moved from my sides to his chest, to the back of his neck even when we pulled away I didn't let go of him. I wasn't planning to. He realized that and crashed his lips back on mine, pushing me up against a tree. I jumped up a bit and wrapped my legs around his waist as he wrapped his arms around mine. We kissed for about ten minutes before finally pulling away to catch our breaths.

"Milarayne Aliska Blaze Williams, will you be my girlfriend?"

I stared back into his beautiful emerald green eyes for a few seconds before planting a gentle kiss on his warm yet cold soft lips.

"Yes," I whispered.

He smiled and kissed me again before placing me on his back. "I'm taking you home."

It took me a long moment to realize he had said my two middle names, which confused me quite some; nobody knew my middles names, not even Charlie or Bella. I was far too lost in his embrace, however, to make sense of anything anymore.

It was really bad idea to get involved, _especially_ with him. I knew that. But what's a little taste of romance gonna do to me?

It's not like I can actually die… that I know, at least.


	11. Letting part of the truth out

I quietly ate breakfast with Bella, watching the dust moats stirring in the sunlight that streamed in the back window. Charlie called out a goodbye, and we heard the cruiser pull away from the house. I hesitated on my way out the door, hand on my rain jacket. It would be tempting fate to leave it home. With a sigh, I folded it over my arm and stepped out into the brightest light I'd seen in months.

By dint of much elbow grease, I was able to get both windows in the truck almost completely rolled down. We were one of the first ones to school; we hadn't even checked the clock in our hurry to get outside. Bella parked and headed toward the seldom-used picnic benches on the south side of the cafeteria. The benches were still a little damp, so I sat on my jacket, glad to have a use for it. My homework was done— the product of a slow social life— but there were a few Trig problems I wasn't sure I had right. I took out my book industriously, but halfway through rechecking the first problem I was daydreaming, watching the sunlight play on the red-barked trees. I sketched inattentively along the margins of my homework. After a few minutes, I suddenly realized I'd drawn five pairs of dark eyes staring out of the page at me. I scrubbed them out with the eraser.

"Bella! Mila!" I heard someone call, and it sounded like Mike.

I looked around to realize that the school had become populated while I'd been sitting there, absentminded. Bella had fallen asleep beside me, resting her head against my shoulder. I nudged her on the side, and she bolted upright and looked around disorientedly. Everyone was in t-shirts, some even in shorts though the temperature couldn't be over sixty. Mike was coming toward us in khaki shorts and a striped Rugby shirt, waving.

"Hey, Mike," I called, waving back, unable to be halfhearted on a morning like this.

He came to sit by me, the tidy spikes of his hair shining golden in the light, his grin stretching across his face. He was so delighted to see me, I couldn't help but feel gratified.

"I never noticed before— your hair has red in it," he commented, looking at Bella's hair.

"Only in the sun," she replied, clearly uncomfortable.

He turned to look at me and his eyes widened. "And yours... it has silver in it," he said in awe, catching between his fingers a strand that was fluttering in the light breeze.

"I— what, now?" I asked in disbelief, grabbing my hair and examining it. My eyes widened as I saw some silver highlights in my hair. "What the— how in Hades did this happen?!" I literally shouted, panicking.

Mike looked at me in disbelief. "You didn't know?"

I shook my head. "I'm going to have to go see a doctor. My hair had never been this way," I said, shaking my head again. "Great, just what I needed. First my eyes and now my hair," I muttered. I became just a little uncomfortable as Mike tucked the lock he had between his fingers behind my ear.

"Great day, isn't it?"

I took a deep breath and smiled a halfhearted smile. "My kind of day... ish," I agreed.

"What did you do yesterday?" His tone was just a bit too proprietary.

"We mostly worked on our essays," Bella answered. She didn't add that we were finished with them— no need to sound smug.

He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Oh yeah— that's due Thursday, right?"

"Um, Wednesday, I think."

"Wednesday?" He frowned. "That's not good... What are you writing yours on?" he asked me.

"Whether Shakespeare's treatment of the female characters is misogynistic."

He stared at me like I'd just spoken in pig Latin.

"I guess I'll have to get to work on that tonight," he said, deflated. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go out."

"Oh." I was taken off guard. Why couldn't I ever have a pleasant conversation with Mike anymore without it getting awkward?

"Well, we could go to dinner or something... and I could work on it later." He smiled at me hopefully.

"Mike..." I hated being put on the spot. "I don't think that would be the best idea."

His face fell. "Why?" he asked, his eyes guarded. My thoughts flickered to Mason, wondering if that's where his thoughts were as well.

"I think... and if you ever repeat what I'm saying right now, I will cheerfully beat you to death," I threatened, "but I think that would hurt Jessica's feelings."

He was bewildered, obviously not thinking in that direction at all. "Jessica?"

"Really, Mike, are you blind?"

"Oh," he exhaled— clearly dazed. I took advantage of that to make my escape.

"It's time for class, and I can't be late again." I gathered my books up and stuffed them in my bag.

We walked in silence to building three, and his expression was distracted. I hoped whatever thoughts he was immersed in were leading him in the right direction.

When I saw Jessica in Trig, she was bubbling with enthusiasm. She, Angela, and Lauren were going to Port Angeles tonight to go dress shopping for the dance, and she wanted me and Bella to come too, even though we didn't need one. I was indecisive. It would be nice to get out of town with some girlfriends, but Lauren would be there. And who knew what I could be doing tonight... But that was definitely the wrong path to let my mind wander down. Of course, I was happy about the sunlight. But that wasn't completely responsible for the euphoric mood I was in, not even close.

Mason was gone for the week again, but he'd been calling me and texting me literally every five to ten minutes. I loved the way he cared for me, though I was still being cautious. I have never been in a serious relationship, and it frightened me, but that's why we were taking things slow. We were official, but we made a deal to make it public once Bella found out about the whole supernatural stuff.

The rest of the day passed slowly, dismally. I had Gym for last period, but I was not in the mood to go, so I ditched and walked home. After leaving my things up in my room, I changed into some cleaner clothes and decided to go for a stroll in the woods.

I was walking calmly when suddenly, I couldn't breathe.

I fell, and I could feel my body shaking.

**There was a figure, I couldn't make out what it was, except for these startling tanzanite blue eyes with a hint of spinel red in them, and then there was another, with the exact same eyes, then another— there were seven pairs in total.**

**It was foggy, and all I knew about these figures was that four of them were males, the other three were females, and they were all dangerous. Highly, dangerous.**

**"Did you really think you could live?" A voice hissed from the fog.**

**"When you, you are nothing but a deadly yet worthless weapon of destruction." The other voice laughed.**

**"You may be irresistible to them, but to us… to us you are nothing. Nothing but a demon!"**

**"A devilish little girl."**

**"A monster!"**

**"They are going to kill you, you know."**

**"Kill you... Kill you... Kill you."**

**"The Volturi are coming, and they want your BLOOD!"**

**"Regium will have you!"**

**"There is no escape!"**

I was screaming, withering in pain, shaking in someones strong hold. I could hear voices now.

"What's happening, Carlisle? What do I do?" someone said, sounding terrified.

"Everyone step back, give her room! Emmett get me some hot water and a towel!" another voice called.

I could hear rushing and stumbling. Whoever was there must have been freaking out.

I wanted to open my eyes, but they were almost glued shut, and I couldn't stop shaking, the vision exploded in my head once more, and I shook more violently than ever.

_"You're going to die! You're going to die!" the annoying little demons sand in my head._

_"They're going to kill you!" they laughed._

Shut up! If they were going to kill me, they wouldn't be trying to help me. With that, the little monsters shut up and disappeared.

"Mila, breathe. Everything's okay, Mila? Mila open your eyes," someone was begging me, his voice shaking, and I could tell he was terrified.

I felt as if ice water had plunged through my entire body. I went numb and stopped shaking. Still, my eyes could not open.

"You should take her, to the living room. Esme's got the hot water and flannels there," another voice said.

A pair of cold arms lifted me like I weighed nothing, and carried me. That's when all traces of thought vanished, and I fell into the darkness.

My eyes fluttered open, and I stared back at a high-beamed ceiling. I slowly sat up and took in my surroundings.

I didn't recognize where I was, but it was beautiful and no doubt, a house. It was very bright, very open, and very large. This must have originally been several rooms, but the walls had been removed from most of the first floor to create one wide space. The back, south-facing wall had been entirely replaced with glass, and, beyond the shade of the cedars, the lawn stretched bare to the wide river. A massive curving staircase dominated the west side of the room. The walls, the high-beamed ceiling, the wooden floors, and the thick carpets were all varying shades of white.

Waiting to greet us, standing just to the left of the door, on a raised portion of the floor by a spectacular grand piano. Just now I realized I was sitting on a very long sofa. I turned to look back to my right but screamed and fell off.

"Are you alright?" he asked, as a pair of cold hands reached out towards me.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack? In case you forgot, I'm still human, Bronzy!"

He gave me a sheepish look. "Sorry," he said as he helped me back onto the couch.

I narrowed my eyes. "Where am I?" I asked, suddenly averting my gaze back to the grand piano where now stood a beautiful couple consisting of Dr. Cullen. I looked back at Bronzy. "I'm guessing this is where you live," I said as he nodded before I looked back at Dr. Cullen.

I'd seen him before, of course, yet I couldn't help but be struck again by his youth, his outrageous perfection. At his side was a beautiful woman whom I had never seen before. She had the same pale, beautiful features as the rest of them. Something about her heart-shaped face, her billows of soft, caramel-colored hair, reminded me of the ingénues of the silent-movie era. She was small, slender, yet less angular, more rounded than the others. They were both dressed casually, in light colors that matched the inside of the house. They smiled in welcome but made no move to approach us. Trying not to frighten me, I guessed.

"Carlisle, Esme," Edward's voice broke the short silence, "this is Mila."

"You're very welcome, Mila." Carlisle's step was measured, careful as he approached me. He raised his hand tentatively, and I stood up and stepped forward to shake hands with him.

"It's nice to see you again, Dr. Cullen."

"Please, call me Carlisle."

"Carlisle." I grinned at him, my sudden confidence surprising me. I could feel Edward's relief at my side.

Esme smiled and stepped forward as well, reaching for my hand. Her cold, stone grasp was just as I expected.

"It's very nice to know you," she said sincerely.

"Thank you. I'm glad to meet you, too. Even if it had to be in these circumstances." That was when I started thinking. Why am I even here?

"Where are Alice and Jasper?" Edward asked, but no one answered, as they had just appeared at the top of the wide staircase.

"Hey, Edward!" Alice called enthusiastically. She ran down the stairs, a streak of black hair and white skin, coming to a sudden and graceful stop in front of me. Carlisle and Esme shot warning glances at her, but I liked it. It was natural— for her, anyway.

"Hi, Mila!" Alice said, and she bounced forward to kiss my cheek. If Carlisle and Esme had looked cautious before, they now looked staggered.

There was shock in my eyes, too, but I was also very pleased that she seemed to approve of me so entirely.

"You do smell nice, I never noticed before," she commented, to my extreme embarrassment.

"I am somewhat glad you didn't do this in French class because that would've just made things weird," I muttered, causing them to laugh.

No one else seemed to know quite what to say, and then Jasper was there— tall and leonine. A feeling of ease spread through me, and I was suddenly comfortable despite where I was. Edward stared at Jasper, raising one eyebrow, and I remembered what Jasper could do.

"Hello, Mila," Jasper said. He kept his distance, not offering to shake my hand. But it was impossible to feel awkward near him. "It's nice to see you again."

"Hello, Jasper." I smiled at him shyly, and then at the others. "It's nice to see you again too. It's actually nice to meet you all— you have a very beautiful home," I added conventionally.

"Thank you," Esme said. "We're so glad that you came." She spoke with feeling, and I realized that she thought I was brave.

I smiled and nodded awkwardly. "Just what I wanted to know. How did I come here?"

"We found you in the middle of the forest, screaming," said a voice that rang like shimmering bells. I looked back to see Rosalie and Emmett enter the living room.

"Hey, little girl," Emmett greeted. I growled at him.

"Compared to you, maybe, but I'm almost eighteen, an official citizen of the United States, meaning an adult. And I'm so not little, I'm like two feet taller than Bella!" I exclaimed myself.

He laughed. "Yeah, still can't beat me."

I smirked. "I've already fought against vampires before... I didn't win, but I didn't die as you see me here alive and healthy today. I bet I can still put up a good fight against you."

They all froze except Edward who already knew that I knew about their secret. Next thing I knew, I was pinned against the wall staring back into Rosalie's furious eyes.

"First the crash, now this. How did you know about us? What are you?" she asked me, warily.

Without much effort, I released myself from her grasp leaving her dumbstruck. "The crash, vision. You, your scent and obviously your looks— I mean really! Who is born with golden eyes? Me, I have no idea," I said, shrugging at the last part.

Her eyes widened. "Since when did you know we were vampires?" Jasper asked.

I narrowed my eyes and faked a thinking expression. "The first lunch I had in school when I turned to look at you guys, then Bella was all 'Who are they?' drooling all over Bronzy here, then Jessica fed us that story about you coming from Alaska.... yeah, since the first second I saw you. That's why I panicked and ran out."

"How long have you known about vampires?" Carlisle asked softly.

I tensed up and closed my eyes as the painful memories flooded back to me. "Since I was nine," I said simply.

"What happened to you?" Emmett murmured in a way that made it look as if he were asking himself.

"If you don't mind, I would rather not talk about it right now," I grumbled uneasily.

"Of course, dear. Would you like something to eat?" Esme asked softly.

I was about to reply when suddenly my stomach growled loudly making them all chuckle.

I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment as I timidly brought my gaze to the floor. "Sorry."

Esme smiled. "It's alright, sweetie, I will fix you up something to eat," she said before disappearing in a blur into the kitchen.

Despite the fact that I wasn't so fond of vampires, I actually liked this coven... more than the one I thought I knew.


	12. Figured it out

When I got home, no one else was home, so I went into the kitchen and got herself some leftovers from last night. When I was done, I dragged myself to bed, and for once, had a dreamless sleep, though it felt like, merely, minutes later that was shaking me, causing me to abruptly wake up.

"What did I do now?" I groaned.

"Rae... your theory..." Bella mumbled.

Now that I got a better look at her, I saw that she was shaking. "Bella? Are you alright? What theory?"

"The Buffy one," Bella replied.

"... Edward wears blond wigs and leather?" I blinked in disbelief. "Huh, I would've thought the leather stuff was all Rosalie's style what with her looking like a Barbie and all..."

"What? No! Mila, he's a vampire," Bella said looking at her. "His whole family are vampires!" 

I looked at her and didn't reply. I laid back down on my back and just stared up at the ceiling. "What brought that on?"

"What brought what on?"

"Your assumption," I said. Obviously.

"Well... there's your theory about the crosses and stakes, that day at La Push... when you left, I went on a walk with Jacob, and he told me some stories about the rez and the Cullens and how they're the colds ones, and they're not allowed to go there because of a treaty, and then, last night, when I went with the girls to Port Angeles, there was a small incident while I was alone and he came. We conversed, and at some point, our hands accidentally touched, and I could feel how cold his skin was... and then, the book I bought there, and I just did some researches, and why aren't you freaking out?" she asked, breathlessly.

I didn't answer as I felt her studying me closely. She gasped. "You knew!"

"I can't answer that until you confront him about that. If he denies it, then I've got nothing to say about it. If he admits, then you'll know part of the truth, okay?"

After our small deal, the day of confrontation finally came.

I looked over to where my 'friends' were and waved at them as they headed inside, I wanted to go with them, but, I didn't trust Edward.  

Edward finally showed up, looking towards us. Bella grabbed my hand and walked towards him.

I tried to do something new and stupid. I tried to speak to him telepathically. " _She knows_." I looked sideways in his direction and realized it worked when I saw his eyes widened. So I went on. " _She figured it on her own last night, after your little encounter with her_."

Bella began to walk towards the forest behind the school, dragging me along; I knew that Edward was following us. Bella lead us both deep into the woods before stepping into a small clearing, throwing her bag to the side and stepping into the middle of the clearing. I walked towards a tree and leaned against it as Bella spoke, with Edward coming up behind her.

"You're impossibly fast, and strong," Bella began with a trembling breath. "Your skin is pale white and ice-cold, your eyes change color."

"Dramatic much," I muttered.

"And you speak," Bella continued. "Like you're from a different time." She paused. "You never eat or drink anything; you don't go out in the sunlight. How old are you?"

There was a silence. "Seventeen."

"How  _long_  have you been seventeen?" Bella asked.

Ugh, they're so dramatic…

"... A while," he answered.

"We know what you are," Bella told him.

"Don't drag me into this," I hissed at her under my breath.

"Say it," he ordered Bella, "Out loud, say it."

I had a feeling this was for Bella and Bella alone, so I walked away. As I walked away, I chuckled when I heard Bella whisper,

"Vampire."

She finally figured it out.

"So, we meet again," he said, picking me up into his arms.

"I guess so, and in the same situation. Funny," I said, resting my head on his shoulder. I don't really know him, but I felt comfortable enough around him to do so.

He laughed before wrinkling his nose. "Why do you reek?"

"That's my business. Why are you shirtless?"

"That's my business, princess."

I scowled. "Don't call me that, Wolf."

He mirrored my scowl. "Don't call me that."

"Why? I mean, it is your last name," I said innocently.

He stopped walking and stared at me for a moment. I smirked as he shook his head. "You devilish little girl." He sighed.

I laughed. "I do what I can."

When I woke up, Charlie was there, and boy was he pissed, Bella and I were grounded to the house for skipping school which wasn't so bad for us. When Bella came home, I practically wrestled Bella to the ground for details about after I left, when Bella did, I shocked the life out of her by not being shocked.

"... So now that you know that he knows that you know that he's a vampire, you're waiting and hoping he would ask you to be his girlfriend."

"Yep," Bella answered.

"I hope you realize that that will actually happen since you are his singer, a singer that makes him hunger for your blood more than anything else in the world," I added.

Bella nodded. "Yep."

There was a silence before I said, "Good luck with that."

"Since when did you know?"

"Since the first day, when you first started drooling all over Bronzy."

"I was not drooling! And I meant... since when did you know that..."

"Vampires existed?" She nodded. I shrugged. "Since I was nine."

She gasped. "Nine?!" she exclaimed herself in disbelief.

I looked at her. "Yep," I said before I started looking around for Charlie's baseball bat.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I got to threaten your boyfriend before you guys can go any further than you have in your dreams," I explained.

Bella blushed. "He's not my boyfriend yet, and I told you, it was just a dream!"

"That chick in Dracula said the same thing, and look how she turned out?" I retorted, giving up my search. I slumped down on my bed and just stared up at the ceiling. She lied down beside me and did the same.

"What are you thinking?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I'm thinking whether it's a good idea or not to let you date a vampire that's been annoying the hell out of me since the first day, and whether I should tell you my latest relationship status or not," I said, frowning at the ceiling.

"You should definitely let me date him, and relationship? You have a boyfriend?"

I smiled. "Remember Mason?" I asked, turning my head to the side to look at her. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"The Greek god-looking guy who's been following you around? The one other guy whom every girl drools over?"

I furrowed my brows before nodding. "Yep, pretty much."

"Since when?"

"La Push, on my way back home," I replied casually.

She seemed to be in deep thought for a moment before she finally shrugged. "At least he's human." 

I laughed. "What?" she asked, giving me a startled look.

"Life! You've got a lot to learn," I said, shaking my head. "Bella, he is far from being human."

She gave me a puzzled look. "Are you saying that because he looks like a Greek god?"

I laughed again and smiled as his intoxicating scent filled my nostrils. "She's saying that because of that and because I am mostly like your boyfriend, yet far from it."

"Oh my God!" She gasped, falling off my bed.

I rolled my eyes. "I told you, you have to stop doing that," I said, crawling over to the edge to see Bella laying on the floor.

She looked up at me. "I'm guessing he's a vampire too?"

I grimaced. "Close."

"I'm a hybrid," he finished, helping Bella up. "Sorry about that."

She nodded, looking pretty shaken up. "It's okay. I'm born clumsy, so it's not unexpected."

He sat down on the bed, rested a hand at the small of my back and tracing soothing circles on it. "So, I'm guessing you figured it out?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I figured it out."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You're not going to freak out?"

She pursed her lips before shaking her head. "Nope."

I grinned. "That's my sister," I said, pulling her into a hug. I honestly didn't like much the idea of her knowing about this supernatural world, but it's in her destiny to find out.

When Bella went back to her room, I looked at the clock and saw it was two in the morning. I sighed loudly, knowing I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep anytime soon, now. Mason pulled me onto his back, without warning me, and started making his way towards my window.

"Where are we— where are you taking me?" I asked, gripping his shoulders.

"On a date."

I raised an eyebrow and gave him an 'are you serious' look. "At two o'clock in the morning?"

"Yep."

I narrowed my eyes and slightly frowned as he climbed out of my window, with me on his back. "Where?"

"It's a surprise," he replied, and I could hear the smirk in his voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course it is," I muttered under my breath. "I hate surprises."

He laughed, jumping from tree to tree. "I know. That's what makes it more interesting, Silver." I groaned.

He took me to the beach in La Push. He had made a beautiful, good-looking picnic that made me drool. We did the whole twenty questions those people do in movies, but thankfully, our date was nowhere near those. This date might've been my first, but it was the best. After we were finished eating, he picked up, bridal style, and started making his way towards the water.

"Mason, don't you dare," I warned, gripping onto his shoulders tightly.

"Aw, is little Mila scared?" he cooed teasingly.

"Yes. I have no shitting idea how to swim, now take me back, Mason. Now," I demanded in a shaky voice.

He chuckled. "I'll teach you."

I shook my head. "No, I'll sink and drown."

"I'd never let go of you."

My breathing hitched. I decided to try the little thing people call 'flirting' and looked up at him from under my long lashes, batting my eyes, coyly. "Please?" I pleaded in a small voice. "Please don't, Mason."

He looked at me, and I could feel his heart pounding hard, for the first time, against his chest. "Damn it, woman. I swear, one day, you will be the death of me." He growled to himself before jumping into the water with me in his arms.

I insulted him for about thirty minutes after that, but eventually calmed down and let him teach me how to swim. I resurfaced the water and let out a small squeal when Mason spun me around to face him. He caressed my cheek and kissed my nose.

"Your eyes," he whispered.

I tilted my head to the side curiously. "What about them?"

He smiled a dazzled smile. "Babe, they're blue-silver and... glowing."

I found out I was actually good at this and that I had the power to control the water— I didn't even know I had powers other than the mind reading and the predicting.

I figured things out of my own tonight.


	13. Taken

Charlie was gone again, and we were running later than we'd realized. Bella swallowed a granola bar in three bites as I simply put one in my bad, and then hurried out the door. Hopefully the rain would hold off until we could find Jessica.

It was unusually foggy; the air was almost smoky with it. The mist was ice cold where it clung to the exposed skin on my face and neck. I couldn't wait to get the heat going in the truck. It was such a thick fog that I was a few feet down the driveway before I realized there was a car in it: a silver car. I groaned.

I didn't see where he came from, but suddenly he was there, pulling the door open for us.

"Do you want to ride with me today?" he asked, amused by my expression as he caught me by surprise yet again. There was uncertainty in his voice. He was really giving us a choice— I was free to refuse, but apparently not when Bella was around.

I nudged Bella. "Yes, thank you," she said.

As I stepped into the warm car, in the back seat, I noticed his tan jacket was slung over the headrest of the passenger seat where Bella had settled in. The door closed behind her, and, sooner than should be possible, he was sitting next to her, starting the car.

"I brought the jacket for you. I didn't want you to get sick or something."

His voice was guarded. I noticed that he wore no jacket himself, just a light gray knit V-neck shirt with long sleeves. Again, the fabric clung to his chest. It was a colossal tribute to his face.

"I'm not quite that delicate," she said, but she pulled the jacket onto her lap, pushing her arms through the too-long sleeves.

"Aren't you?" he contradicted in a voice so low I wasn't sure if he meant for her to hear.

We drove through the fog-shrouded streets, always too fast, feeling awkward— I was, at least. Last night all the walls between them were down... almost all.

He turned to smirk at Bella. "What, no twenty questions today?"

"Do my questions bother you?" she asked.

"Not as much as your reactions do." He looked like he was joking, but I knew better.

She frowned. "Do I react badly?"

"No, that's the problem. You take everything so coolly— it's unnatural. It makes me wonder what you're really thinking."

"I always tell you what I'm really thinking."

I snorted, and he looked back at me for a second, but I just shrugged.

"You edit," he accused.

"Not very much."

"Enough to drive me insane." I smiled in spite of myself; that's the point... well, for me it is.

"You don't want to hear it," she mumbled, almost whispered.

He didn't respond. His face was unreadable as we drove into the school parking lot. Something occurred to me belatedly.

"Where's the rest of your clan?" I asked, remembering that his car was usually full.

"They took Emmett's car." He shrugged as he parked next to a big glossy black jeep. "Ostentatious, isn't it?"

"That's an understatement," I retorted flatly.

"Um, wow," Bella breathed. "If he has that, why does they ride with you?"

"Like I said, it's ostentatious. We try to blend in."

"You don't succeed." I laughed and shook my head as we got out of the car. We weren't late anymore; his lunatic driving had gotten us to school in plenty of time. "So why did Emmett drive today if it's more conspicuous?"

"Hadn't you noticed? I'm breaking all the rules now."

He met us at the front of the car, staying very close to my side as we walked onto campus. I wanted to put more distance between and push him more towards Bella, but then again, he could go berserk with her scent.

"Why do you have cars like that at all?" Bella wondered aloud. "If you're looking for privacy?"

"Privacy? Please! Have you seen the way they dance around school? Even Emmett! And trust me, he isn't really someone you would imagine dancing ballet," I said, rolling my eyes.

Bronzy chuckled. "An indulgence," he admitted with an impish smile. "We all like to drive fast."

"Figures," I muttered under my breath. "Vampire."

Under the shelter of the cafeteria roof's overhang, Jessica was waiting, her eyes about to bug out of their sockets.

"Hey, Jessica," Bella said when we were a few feet away. "Thanks for remembering." She handed Bella her jacket without speaking.

"Good morning, Jessica," Edward said politely. I snorted.

"Er... hi." She shifted her wide eyes to Bella, trying to gather her jumbled thoughts. "I guess I'll see you in Trig." She gave us a meaningful look, and Bella suppressed a sigh. I wonder what she's going to tell her...

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

Jessica walked away, pausing twice to peek back over her shoulder at us.

"What are you going to tell her?" Edward murmured.

"Hey, I thought you couldn't read my mind!" Bella hissed.

"I can't," he said, startled. Then understanding brightened his eyes. "However, I can read hers— she'll be waiting to ambush you in class." Bella groaned as she pulled off his jacket and handed it to him, replacing it with her own. He folded it over his arm.

"So what are you going to tell her?"

"A little help?" she pleaded. "What does she want to know?"

He shook his head, grinning wickedly. "That's not fair."

"No, you not sharing what you know— now that's not fair."

"Touché," I sang under my breath.

He deliberated for a moment as we walked. We stopped outside the door to my first class.

"She wants to know if we're secretly dating. And she wants to know how you feel about me," he finally said.

"Yikes. What should I say?" She seemed to be trying to keep her expression very innocent. People were passing us on their way to class, probably staring, but she was barely aware of them.

"Hmmm." He paused to catch a stray lock of hair that was escaping the twist on her neck and wound it back into place.  

I rolled my eyes. "You could say yes to the first... if you don't mind— it's easier than any other explanation." Edward gave me a disapproving look, but I completely ignored it.

"I don't mind," Bella said in a faint voice.

"And as for her other question... well, we'll be listening to hear the answer to that one ourselves." As soon as I said that, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist and a warm, yet cold pair of soft lips kissed my neck. I smiled.

"What's going on?" Mason asked.

"Oh, just that Bella and Bronzy are finally dating," I said casually, leaning back to kiss his cheek.

"So, we can finally be public now and not just to the trees?" he asked, hopeful.

I felt amused laughter building up in my chest, but it quickly died down as I noticed in the distance a familiar figure in a trench coat. "Yeah…" I replied absentmindedly.

The look on the boy's face was unreadable and I merely stared back at him as he climbed back onto his bike and sped off without a second acknowledgment. I blinked, seemingly bringing myself back to reality, and brought my eyes back to the young man whose arms were still around me, holding me in what I could recognize, for the first time in quite a long time, as a loving embrace.

My eyes shifted from one emerald orb to the other as he smirked back at me upon turning me around in his arms, so I would be facing him.

"Good, because I'm seriously tired of the way those other creepers think of you and look at you."

He kissed me, but reluctantly pulled away when someone cleared their throat.

"You're together?" Edward asked between his clenched teeth.

Mason and I looked at each other before looking back at him and replying at the same time, "Yeah."

With that said, Edward smiled a small smile at Bella, gave me a sad look then glared at Mason before he turned and walked away.

Gods, I'm getting a serious whiplash being around all these men…

"I'll see you at lunch," he called over his shoulder.

Mason kissed me again before pulling away. "I'll see you at lunch too, Silver."

I smiled. "See ya, Green," I called after him as he walked off too. Three people walking in the door stopped to stare at us.

Bella and I hurried into class, flushed and irritated. We sat in our usual seats, slamming our bag down in aggravation.

"Morning, Mila," Mike said from the seat in front of me. I looked up to see an odd, almost resigned look on his face. I nodded before he turned to Bella. "Morning, Bella. How was Port Angeles?"

"It was... great," she said lamely. "Jessica got a really cute dress."

"Did she say anything about Monday night?" he asked, his eyes brightening. She smiled at the turn the conversation had taken.

"She said she had a really good time," she assured him.

"She did?" he said eagerly.

"Most definitely."

Mr. Mason called the class to order then, asking us to turn in our papers. English and then Government passed in a blur. The talk with Jessica in Trig was irritating. Not only did she question Bella about the previous night, but she also went all over me and why I didn't tell her I was dating Mason for a while now.

And then the bell rang for lunch. As I jumped up out of my seat, shoving my books roughly in my bag, my uplifted expression must have tipped Jessica off.

"You're not sitting with us today, are you?" she guessed.

"I don't think so," Bella replied. I couldn't be sure that Mason wouldn't disappear or some unknown reason like he usually does; Bella seemed to be thinking the same way about Edward.

But outside the door to our Spanish class, leaning against the wall— looking more like a Greek god than anyone had a right to, Mason… and Edward were waiting for us... having a death glare contest. Jessica took one look, rolled her eyes, and departed.

"See you later, girls." Her voice was thick with implications. I might have to turn off the phone.

"Hello." Their voices were amused and irritated at the same time. Edward had been listening, it was obvious. Mason... I would have to ask him later... if I remember.

"Hi," we replied.

The lunch conversation took a wrong turn as Bella and Edward started talking about hunting. It was uncomfortable for me, so I tuned them out and started playing with Mason's long fingers. We had finally gotten to the part where his 'identity' was revealed... ish. We told Edward he was a hybrid, and that really ticked him off, but he slightly calmed down when Mason told us his age... Yikes.

After lunch, I had a pretty rough time; some random guys were asking me out, but I couldn't help but laugh internally when Mason would suddenly appear out of nowhere and clarify that I was taken. I still couldn't believe myself.

I'm taken.


	14. The treaty surfaces... discreetly

Gym passed quickly as I watched Mike's one-man badminton show. It was sadly one of the most uncomfortable moments I spent with him.

"So," he said as we walked off the court.

"So what?"

"You and Di Angelis, huh?" he asked, his tone rebellious. My previous feeling of affection disappeared.

"That's none of your business, Mike," I warned, internally cursing Jessica straight to the fiery pits of Tartarus.

"First you and him, now Bella and Cullen? I don't like it," he muttered anyway.

"You don't have to," I snapped.

"They look at the both of you like... like you're something to eat," he continued, ignoring me.

I rolled my eyes. He didn't speak to me after that, either in response to my vacant expression or because he was still angry about our squabble yesterday. Somewhere, in a corner of my mind, I felt bad about that. But I couldn't concentrate on him.

I hurried to change afterward, knowing the faster I moved, the sooner I would be with Mason. The pressure made me clumsy, but eventually, I made it out the door, feeling the same release when I saw him standing there, a wide smile automatically spreading across my face, but a small scowl when Edward appeared. Mason kissed me goodbye before leaving me with Miss trips-over-everything and Mister I'm-always-right-trust-me. Bronzy smiled in reaction before launching into more cross-examination with Bella.

His questions were different now, though, not as easily answered. He wanted to know what she missed about home, insisting on descriptions of anything he wasn't familiar with. We sat in front of Charlie's house for hours, as the sky darkened and rain plummeted around us in a sudden deluge.

It was hilarious when she found herself using her hands as she tried to describe everything to him.

His quiet, probing questions kept me talking freely, forgetting, in the dim light of the storm, to be embarrassed for monopolizing the conversation. Finally, when I had finished detailing my cluttered room at home, he paused instead of responding with another question.

"Are you finished?" she asked in relief.

"Not even close— but your father will be home soon."

"Charlie!"

We suddenly recalled his existence and sighed. I looked out at the rain-darkened sky, but it gave nothing away.

"How late is it?" I wondered out loud as I glanced at the clock. I was surprised by the time— Charlie would be driving home now.

"It's twilight," Edward murmured, looking at the western horizon, obscured as it was with clouds. His voice was thoughtful as if his mind were somewhere far away. I stared at him as he gazed unseeingly out the windshield.

I was still staring when his eyes suddenly shifted back to Bella's, then to mine.

"It's the safest time of day for us," he said, answering the unspoken question in Bella’s eyes. "The easiest time. But also the saddest, in a way... the end of another day, the return of the night. Darkness is so predictable, don't you think?" He smiled wistfully at me.

"I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars." I frowned. "Not that you see them here much."

He laughed, and the mood abruptly lightened.

"Charlie will be here in a few minutes. So, unless you want to tell him that you'll be with me Saturday..." He raised one eyebrow.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Bella said gathering her books. "So is it my turn tomorrow, then?"

"Certainly not!" His face was teasingly outraged. "I told you I wasn't done, didn't I?"

"What more is there?"

"You'll find out tomorrow." He reached across to open her door for her, but his hand froze on the handle.

"Not good," he muttered.

"What is it?" I was surprised to see that his jaw was clenched, his eyes disturbed.

He glanced at me for a brief second. "Another complication," he said glumly.

He flung the door open in one swift movement, and then moved, almost cringed, swiftly away from Bella.

The flash of headlights through the rain caught my attention as a dark car pulled up to the curb just a few feet away, facing us.

"Charlie's around the corner," he warned, staring through the downpour at the other vehicle.

I hopped out at once, despite my curiosity followed by a stumbling Bella. The rain was louder as it glanced off my jacket.

I tried to make out the shapes in the front seat of the other car, but it was too dark. I could see Edward illuminated in the glare of the new car's headlights; he was still staring ahead, his gaze locked on someone I couldn't see. His expression was a strange mix of frustration and defiance.

Then he revved the engine, and the tires squealed against the wet pavement. The Volvo was out of sight in seconds.

Bella and I looked at each other questioningly before shrugging.

"Hey, Bella. Hey, Mila," called a familiar, husky voice from the driver's side of the little black car.

"Jacob?" I asked, squinting through the rain. Just then, Charlie's cruiser swung around the corner, his lights shining on the occupants of the car in front of me.

Jacob was already climbing out, his wide grin visible even through the darkness. In the passenger seat was a much older man, a heavyset man with a memorable face— a face that overflowed, the cheeks resting against his shoulders, with creases running through the russet skin like an old leather jacket. And the surprisingly familiar eyes, black eyes that seemed at the same time both too young and too ancient for the broad face they were set in. Jacob's father, Billy Black. He was staring at Bella, scrutinizing her face, so she smiled tentatively at him. His eyes were wide, as if in shock or fear, his nostrils flaring. Her smile faded, and I frowned.

Another complication, Edward had said.

Billy still stared at her with intense, anxious eyes before shifting his gaze over to me with curiosity. I groaned internally. I hate it when people look at me that way.

Another complication, I kept repeating in my head.

Could it be that treaty resurfacing, discreetly?

"Billy!" Charlie called as soon as he got out of the car.

I turned toward the house, beckoning to Jacob as I ducked under the porch. I heard Charlie greeting them loudly behind me.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see you behind the wheel, Jake," he said disapprovingly.

"We get permits early on the rez," Jacob said while I unlocked the door and flicked on the porch light.

"Sure you do," Charlie laughed.

"I have to get around somehow." I smiled at the harmony flowing between them though I quickly snapped out of it when Charlie said my name. I internally groaned; I hate attention.

"Mila, this is Jacob and Billy Black" Charlie introduced.

"Jacob?" I said, a small smile playing on my lips.

He grinned at me as he walked over. "Yeah, we've met," he said, greeting me with a hug. A strong, familiar, musky... woodsy scent filled my nostrils as I inhaled deeply. Something tells me he's not exactly human, though he probably doesn't know it yet, considering his young age.

I pulled away, slightly surprised by his confidence— and the scent— before going over to Billy to shake his hand with a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Black, I'm Mila."

He smiled back and nodded. "So you're the famous Mila Jacob's been talking about nonstop," he said in a teasing tone.

I grinned. "Well I didn't know I was famous, but yes, I guess I am," I replied with the same edge of teasing in my tone, adding a small laugh. I'm getting better at this... I think.

After the greetings, I joined Bella inside, leaving the door open behind me and turning on the lights before I hung up my jacket. Then I stood in the door, watching anxiously as Charlie and Jacob helped Billy out of the car and into his wheelchair.

I backed out of the way as the three of them hurried in, shaking off the rain.

"This is a surprise," Charlie was saying.

No kidding.

"It's been too long," Billy answered. "I hope it's not a bad time." His dark eyes flashed up to me again, their expression unreadable.

"No, it's great. I hope you can stay for the game."

Jacob grinned. "I think that's the plan— our TV broke last week."

He made a face at his son. "And, of course, Jacob was anxious to see Bella and Mila again," he added. Jacob scowled and ducked his head while I fought back a surge of remorse. Maybe Bella had been too convincing on the beach.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, turning toward the kitchen. I was eager to escape Billy's searching gaze.

"Naw, we ate just before we came," Jacob answered.

"How about you, Charlie?" I called over my shoulder as I fled around the corner.

"Sure," he replied, his voice moving in the direction of the front room and the TV. I could hear Billy's chair follow.

"I'm going up, okay Rae?" Bella announced, making her way towards the stairs.

"Okay, just don't fall on—" There was a crashing sound. "— the staircase," I finished, realizing it was too late, she already fell.

I started fighting back a smile. "Shut up," she mumbled before quickly making her way up to her room, blushing.

The grilled cheese sandwiches were in the frying pan, and I was slicing up a tomato when I sensed someone behind me.

"So, how are things?" Jacob asked.

"Pretty good." I smiled. His enthusiasm was hard to resist. "How about you? Did you finish your car?"

"No." He frowned. "I still need parts. We borrowed that one." He pointed with his thumb in the direction of the front yard.

"Sorry. I haven't seen any... what was it you were looking for? Master cylinder?"

"Yeah." He grinned. "Is something wrong with the truck?" he added suddenly.

"No."

"Oh. I just wondered because Bella wasn't driving it."

I stared down at the pan, pulling up the edge of a sandwich to check the bottom side. "We got a ride with a... friend."

"Nice ride." Jacob's voice was admiring. "I didn't recognize the driver, though. I thought I knew most of the kids around here."

I nodded noncommittally, keeping my eyes down as I flipped sandwiches.

"My dad seemed to know him from somewhere."

"Jacob, could you hand me some plates? They're in the cupboard over the sink."

"Sure." He got the plates in silence. I hoped he would let it drop now.

"So who was it?" he asked, setting two plates on the counter next to me.

I sighed in defeat. "Edward Cullen," I grunted. To my surprise, he laughed. I glanced up at him. He looked a little embarrassed.

"Guess that explains it, then," he said. "I wondered why my dad was acting so strange."

"That's right." I faked an innocent expression. "He doesn't like the Cullens."

"Superstitious old man," Jacob muttered under his breath.

"You don't think he'd say anything to Charlie?" I couldn't help asking, the words coming out in a low rush.

Jacob stared at me for a moment, and I couldn't read the expression in his dark eyes.

"I doubt it," he finally answered. "I think Charlie chewed him out pretty good last time. They haven't spoken much since— tonight is sort of a reunion, I think. I don't think he'd bring it up again."

"Oh," I said, trying to sound indifferent.

"You don't seem to like that Cullen guy much," he pointed out.

I chuckled. "Are you a mind-reader or is it just that obvious?" I asked.

He laughed. "Just that obvious."

Bella joined me after a while, though I stayed in the front room after I carried the food out to Charlie, pretending to watch the game while Jacob chattered at me. I was really listening to the men's conversation, watching for any sign that Billy was about to rat Bella out, trying to think of ways to stop him if he began. It was a long night. I had a lot of homework that was going undone, but I was afraid to leave Billy alone with Charlie. Finally, the game ended.

"Are you and your friends coming back to the beach soon?" Jacob asked as he pushed his father over the lip of the threshold.

"I'm not sure," I hedged.

"That was fun, Charlie," Billy said.

"Come up for the next game," Charlie encouraged.

"Sure, sure," Billy said. "We'll be here. Have a good night."

His eyes shifted to Bella's, and his smile disappeared. "You take care, Bella," he added seriously.

"Thanks," she muttered, looking away.

His gaze shifted to me, and the smile reappeared. Okay, really what is it with these people? I get it, there's a treaty resurfacing or whatever, but really? I don't really get why he was nice to me, but did he have to be so cold with Bella?

"Take care, Mila," he said.

"Yeah... thanks. You too," I said kindly, smiling back. I headed for the stairs with Bella at my heels while Charlie waved from the doorway.

"Weird," she said.

"I think it has something to do with that treaty Jacob told you about, Bells," I said.

She frowned as we stood in front of my door. "Do you think he knows about the Cullens?" she asked, slightly panicked.

I mirrored her frown. "I don't think, Bella, I know. He must have an important position back at the rez if he acted this way."

We looked at each other for a moment before shaking it off. "Another day," we said at the same time before hugging each other and heading towards our rooms.

"Took you a while to come up," he said.

I rolled my eyes and just plopped myself onto my bed, too lazy to change clothes. "We had visitors."

"Shifter," he muttered under his breath, though I don't think it was meant for me to hear.

"What?"

His beautiful emerald green eyes bored into my silvery ones for a few seconds before he pulled me into his arms. "The kid is..."

"A shifter," I stated.

He gave me a puzzled look. "You knew?"

I shrugged, resting my head on his strong chest. "I met one the first time I got lost in the woods. When Jacob hugged me, his scent was similar, but... distant."

He nodded. "You're right. He hasn't shifted yet," he said, kissing my forehead. I closed my eyes, sighing.

"Phased... Shifted. When will I see you wagging your tail and sticking your tongue out?" I said, playfully, as I looked up at him.

He gave me a teasing glare before smirking. "How about now, hybrid girl?"

I grimaced. "As much as it sounds creepy, it is better than vampire girl or wolf girl... since I'm neither. But, to answer your question, it would be an honor."

He grinned. "Good, because I wouldn't have taken no for an answer." Before I knew it, we were standing in the middle of the forest, a few feet away from a meadow, me, being the only breathless one here.

I scowled. "Warn me next time. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

He chuckled. "Sorry, Silver," he replied with a full-blown grin on his perfect face.

He softly kissed me before taking a few steps back and started to unbutton his grey shirt. After he took it off and threw it onto the ground, he proceeded to unbutton his jeans. My eyes widened, and I quickly spun away, not wanting to look anymore. It's not that I disliked his perfect body, but... I'm a decent girl, and I'm still underage, so don't judge me.

After a few minutes had passed, a felt something pressing against my shoulder. I slowly turned around to stare at a bigger pair of those familiar, beautiful emerald green eyes. I stepped back to contemplate the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

His fur was silver, like my eyes. He was... breathtakingly beautiful. I reached a shaking hand out towards him and gently pet his big head, in between the ears.

"I... I have never seen anything more... beautiful in my entire life," I murmured.

" _I have_ ," I heard his voice echo through my head.

"Oh, really? And what exactly was it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

His giant head held a shocked expression. " _You can hear me?_ "

I shrugged. "Loud and clear, but you didn't answer my question. What could possibly be more beautiful than... you in your  _wild_  form?"

There was a moment of silence before his voice echoed through my head, once again, whispering, " _You_."

I stared at him, wide-eyed for a few moments before turning my back to him and walking towards the meadow. "Change," I said.

I laid down on the grass and look up at the shimmering moon— the big silver rock that only shows at night ever so beautifully. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, for once, relaxing as I felt a pair of strong arms pull me in an embrace. I opened my eyes and stared back at him, unable to look away. We stayed like that till sunrise, and I loved it. He crawled, so he was literally on top of me, staring back into my eyes.

"How can someone be so beautiful?" he whispered, caressing my cheek.

I shrugged. "I wouldn't know, I'm not you. I'm not beautiful."

He growled playfully. "You must stop thinking so low of yourself, Mila."

I frowned for a moment but relaxed when he kissed my forehead. My heart started racing incredibly as I slid my hands up his bare, muscled chest with shaking hands. His eyes glazed and suddenly turned an electric emerald green before he crashed his lips onto mine, roughly. My hands moved from his chest to the back of his neck even when we pulled away I didn't let go of him. He lightly placed both hands to my face and pulled me in for one last gentle kiss before picking me up and carrying me home.


	15. The Cullens

Mason didn't come the next night— Edward did.

I sat up, glared at him and said, "Hurt her, and I’ll make you feel like your spending your life in Tartarus."

He laughed, but I was nowhere near joking.

"I'm not kidding, _Edward_ ," I spoke with a frown. "You harm a single hair on Bella's head, and there will be pain."

"And trust me," I added. "You do not want to know what more there is to come if you mess with Bella and me," I said before laying back down and going back to sleep.

For weeks Bella left to go hang out with Edward while I hung out with Mason. I also made an effort to keep hanging out with Mike, Jessica, Angela, Eric, and Tyler. Apparently, I was now their favorite since I wasn't clingy to Mason like Bella was to Edward; frankly, even I was shocked to see how much Bella hung out more with him than with me, but then again, I'm the one who decided to keep my distance from him. What was creepy was that she somewhat found a way to cling to me much more than before. She forces me to go with her an Edward everywhere and to sit with them at lunch.

Finally, Bella and I had a day together, alone, by washing Bella's truck and trying to see if we can fix the dent or take it to a mechanic.

"I think I can fix it," I told Bella as I put on thick gloves.

"Rae, the last time you told me that, you broke the heater," Bella replied with a smile.

I smiled back. "Ah, but did I not fix  _that_  as well afterward?"

Bella didn't reply because that was true. She began scrubbing the truck when a loud bang was heard. Bella jumped, causing me to jump as well and hit my head going up and then toppling onto the ground with an 'oomph.' Annoyed, I saw it was Edward who was on top of the roof of the car and getting down.

"Could you act human?" Bella joked, smiling at Edward.

"Amen," I muttered.

"I mean, I've got neighbors," Bella continued. And an annoyed godsister, I thought.

I leaned my head back down to resume my work on the dent. "I'm going to take you both to my place tomorrow," Edward said, completely ignoring Bella's comment.

"Goddammit, no! I am not going!" I hissed, hitting the dent in the car, un-denting it. I cursed under my breath. "Why did I not think of that before going through all that trouble?"

"Hey, look! You fixed it!" Bella exclaimed to herself.

I glared at her. "I'm not going," I growled, cursing under my breath afterward as Bella did the damned puppy dog eyes to me. "Dammit, Bella. Why do you torture me this way?" I sighed. "I'm coming, but I'm bringing Mason."

Bella smiled though it soon faded and turned into a frown. "What if they don't like me?" Bella asked.

Edward had to double take before smiling and leaned against the truck. "So, you're worried not because you'll be in a house full of vampires, but because you think they won't approve of you?"

I shook my head. "It's Bella, what do you expect? I, on the other hand, am insanely worried. What if Barbara and Kenneth come and get me when I set foot inside?"

Bella looked confused while Edward smiled at me but looked a little awkward. "No, Esme and Carlisle want to see you before they send them after you. Don't want a replay."

"Oh well, I feel the love," I said, before starting on the cleaning of the truck. I actually liked Rosalie and Emmett, but I was still freaked out about the other day.

"Wait," Bella said. "Why do your parents want to meet me... and see Mila?"

"You obviously, because you are my... girlfriend, and as for Mila—" He cut himself off as I glared at him. Whatever it is they wanted to see me for, I didn't want Bella knowing just yet.

Of course, just the moment I was about to sit down and chew down a nice tuna sandwich, Bella grabbed me and once again dragged me outside where Bronzy was waiting. If Mason didn't come, I don't know what I would've done! We got into Edward's car and were on our way to the Cullen's house.

He looked back at me and slightly frowned when he saw me and Mason literally snuggling into each other. He then shook his head to himself and looked away. "I never was able to ask you, Mila, but how do you feel of me being a vampire?"

I looked at him, then to Bella, who was looking at me with nervous eyes. "You're kidding me, right? I already answered that, that night when I confessed that I knew what you were. Remember? Then at some point, I was all like 'But the sun is pretty.' Don't tell me you don't remember."

He fought back a smile. "Must've slipped my mind."

"Yeah, sure. An alzheimeric vampire," I muttered under my breath. I closed my eyes and sighed. "As much as I would like to say that I am okay with it... I would be lying."

He nodded as if understanding what I said, Bella looked a bit more nervous. I didn't want to upset her.

"I've never been a fan of vampires... for some reason, you might never know... though you wouldn't think that today, considering the fact that I'm dating a hybrid. I must admit that when I confronted you, I was, somewhat, scared shitless, but I promised, for Bella's, and my sake, that I will give your family the benefit of the doubt since you guys are what you call 'vegetarians,'" I told him opening my eyes to him.

I looked at him intently. "But know this Edward, and I honestly don't care if or how much it annoys you, I will keep repeating this till the day I figure out how to die; you break Bella, I. Break. You."

I had to give it to him, he was smart enough not to laugh or smile at me, again. The way he was frowning though, made me realize that he was taking me seriously, which was good on both of our parts. Bella on the other looked away and sighed in relief.

"Edward would never hurt me, Mila," she said.

"He could; you have to realize that Bells, Edward can," I stated, frowning at him.

"I can see who has the common sense in your home," Edward said looking at me through the review mirror.

"I spoke from experience, Edward. I just hope you understand that and take me seriously. Here's a hint, I didn't call you Bronzy," I said, bitterly.

Bella looked back to me; I could see her stubbornness showing through her eyes. "But he won't."

Apparently, that was that as she turned back to look ahead. I didn't think so though, not by a long shot, but I will keep my mouth shut for Bella's sake. I just hope and pray, however, that I wouldn't have to use my blood to kill Edward if he does. I closed my eyes and leaned against Mason, who had been silent the whole ride.

Finally, we reached the house. This was the first time I looked at it from the outside. It was breathtaking.

"You're lucky I hadn't eaten yet, or I would be barfing all over the front lawn. Stop driving like a maniac, Bronzy," I said as I walked by them and towards the steps, with Mason trailing at my heels.

On that last note, I stopped dead in my tracks and pulled Mason to the side, letting Bella and Bronzy pass before us.

"Okay, I can't take this anymore. What's wrong?" I demanded.

He smiled and caressed my cheek. "Nothing. I simply hadn't phased in a long time, that it really took a lot out of me."

I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips. "Are you sure?" I asked, worried.

He sighed. "Alright, you caught me. I'll tell you later when we get back, okay?" I stared into his beautiful emerald green eyes for a moment, hesitant, before nodding. He grinned. "That's my girl," he said, leaning down to kiss me roughly, wrapping his arms around my waist. When we pulled apart, I was extremely breathless.

He laughed. "Hey, don't laugh! I'm still struggling into getting used to it." I pouted. He grinned and kissed me one last time before pulling me towards the front door where Edward and Bella were waiting patiently for us.

The couple went ahead of us as I was just readjusting to the beauty of this... mansion. I went out my daze when something poked me on the shoulder. My head shot up and looked to where I assumed the poker was and was right.

Alice stood there smiling away, and Jasper a few steps away, looking at Mason with a slight smirk on his face. I blushed. "I said the truth, sheesh, don't judge me," I muttered, making them laugh.

"Hi, Mila!" Alice squealed as she yanked me away from Mason and hugged me to her small frame. "We're going to be the best of friends you and me!"

I blinked for a second before patting Alice's back awkwardly. "That's good to know... even though you've told me something similar the many times we've met."

Alice laughed just as Jasper walked a little more closely to us. "Hey, Mila."

I smiled at him. "Sup," I greeted, still waiting for Alice to get off of me.

Jasper scrunched up his eyebrows but was now smiling at me, as he looked down to his little girlfriend.

That was when I realized that Alice was sniffing me, again. Okay, now things were getting more awkward by the minute.

"Um... Alice," I spoke gently, not wanting to piss off a vampire. "As much as I love being hugged, especially by you, but this is kind of..."

"Oh!" Alice giggled before letting go. "Sorry, but you smell so good!"

I grimaced. "So I've been  _told_."

Alice tilted her head towards the house. I watched her for a moment before whipping my head to the house as something crashed inside.

"Bella!" I shouted when I was about to run towards the door Alice grabbed my arm.

"Bella is fine," she assured me.

I sighed. "Let me guess... Rosalie?" I said.

"Yep," Alice chirped.

I shook my head, calming down. "Anyway, you guys remember Mason, right? Wait, have you even met before?" Now that I think of it, I never saw them confront each other like him and Edward.

Jasper smiled. "We have. Nice to see you again," he greeted Mason with a nod which he returned with a smile as well.

"I'm surprised you figured out he was a supernatural before us," Jasper commented, chuckling.

I grimaced. "Yeah... not a very pleasant gift— I'd rather be oblivious about these things, but as long as I try and manage to be... happy, I don't really mind. I'm kind of used to it."

They smiled at me. "Come on, Jasper and I were going back inside before we saw you," Alice said before dragging me to Jasper.

"Honey, mind giving her a lift? She's taller than me, and it might make her uncomfortable," Alice asked Jasper.

"Give me a what?" I asked with wide eyes. I shook my head. "No, thanks. I've got my boyfriend for that," I said, stepping backward towards Mason who smirked at me and picked me up bridal style, scaring the shit out of me.

"Holy mother Mary! Warn me!" I hissed. He chuckled and followed the couple up a tree that was next to an open window to where the crashing came from. Alice went through the window before us, holding some random flower I had not seen before.

"Hi Bella," she greeted as she landed on to the floor, followed by Jasper and Mason and me.

Bella's eyes widened at the sight along with the others for some reason.

"I'm Alice," she introduced herself before hugging Bella.

I looked at Mason who was staring back at me, lovingly. I blushed. "Put me down, Mason."

He smirked. "No, thank you," he replied, huskily. I sent him a playful glare, making him sigh. "Fine. But only because you asked me so, so nicely," he said, sarcastically while putting me down on my feet, but keeping an arm around my waist.

I was about to add something but cut myself short when I realized that everyone was looking at us now, looking amused.

"Um... hello, it's nice to be back," I said with a wave. "Er... this is Mason Di Angelis, my... hybrid boyfriend."

Someone chuckled and lifted me up from behind, making me squeal. "Emmett!" I exclaimed myself, thrashing around until he put me down on the ground like a damn little baby.

"Oh, you know you missed me," he said, leaning against the wall.

I rolled my eyes. "I mostly missed the parents, the extremely creepy yet extraordinary," I paused, pointing at Alice and Jasper,"... and Rosalie. She may be short-tempered, but she's calm. I like calm."

"What about me?" Edward said, from beside Bella who was still speechless for some reason.

I looked at him and blinked a few times before shrugging. "See you too often, so I don't really get the chance to experience missing you."

Emmett laughed at that as I got up and went back to my previous position, beside Mason.

I looked around and smiled when I saw Esme smiling at me. "Hello, Mila."

"Hey, Esme. It's nice to see you again."

"Wait a second, you've been here before?" Bella asked in disbelief.

I shrugged. "The first time wasn't really by choice, but yeah, I've been here a few times," I replied, a bit uncomfortable about the subject.

My mind was swept away at the smell of something that was making my mouth water. I looked over to the food and eyed it jealously. How can people who don't even eat, cook so well? I can barely make grilled cheese sandwiches and a salad!

Someone chuckled. "Are you hungry?"

I looked up to see Carlisle smiling at me. I blushed and nodded, smiling shyly. "Starved. Bronzy and Clumsy over there took me away from my dinner before coming here and..." I stopped as I saw someone on the TV instructing how to make the food. "Oh my— are you seriously following the instructions on the TV? That is so awesome! I never knew that was possible! That looks very... interesting."

I was pulling Mason over to sit on a stool near the counter when I saw the broken salad bowel on the floor. "Here, I'll help you clean," I said, getting the rubber gloves from the sink and grabbing the garbage can.

" _Bronzy, show Bella around_ ," I told Edward telepathically. He nodded, and I couldn't help but snort and mutter a "Whipped," under my breath. He rolled his eyes at me then left with Bella to show her the rest of the house, while Mason and I were being fed by Esme and Carlisle, Rosalie had picked up the rest of the glass after Esme took me away from it to feed me and was now cleaning the dishes while I ate and talked about food with Esme.

I finally figured why the Cullens wanted to see me.

"As you know, Mila, Jasper is the youngest to our group, so he has a harder time as you have seen with Bella, but you, however, seem to not entice him to take you," Carlisle explained.

Everyone went silent when the sound of a grand piano echoed through the house.

I didn't know if I ever hear this song, but it seemed vaguely familiar. I closed my eyes and leaned against Mason's side, a small smile appearing on my lips. "Claire De Lune," I whispered, now remembering, though I was slightly internally frustrated that I couldn't remember where I had heard it before nor when.

I felt all eyes on me as I started moving my fingers on the counter as if playing the song myself, but I didn't bother to open my eyes.

"You like Debussy?" Esme asked.

"Yeah, my belief is that when you want to relax or think of a happy place, classical music works best." I sighed as the song came to an end.

I opened my eyes and looked over to them and was surprised that even Rosalie was smiling now.

"Hey... um... about your car, Rosalie... I never really apologized, but I was kind of trying to make a point. Sorry for the outcome of it," I said while shyly picking at my sleeve. 

"Aww!" 

"Ah!" In a blink of an eye, Emmett and Alice tackled me to the ground, hugging the life out of me. I tried to escape.

"You're so cute!" Alice squealed.

"Can we keep her, please?" Emmett pleaded to Rosalie.

"Yeah... guys. I'm not a puppy. I'm starting to like you... but not as much as I love breathing," I said, gasping for air.

Of course, everyone laughed and didn't see Edward climbing up a tree with Bella on his back. If I wasn't busy trying to save myself from the two brunettes, Edward would have been severely punished.


	16. The game and the unwanted guests

"My room," he informed me, opening it and pulling me through.

His room faced south, with a wall-sized window like the great room below. His view looked down on a winding river, across the untouched forest to the mountain range; the mountains were much closer than I would have believed.

The western wall was covered entirely with shelf after shelf of CDs; a sophisticated-looking sound system settled neatly in the corner. There was a large bed with navy blue comforters in the center and inviting black leather sofa. The floor was covered with a matching navy blue carpet, and the walls were hung with heavy fabric in a slightly darker shade.

"Good acoustics?" I guessed.

He chuckled and nodded.

He picked up a remote and turned the stereo on. It was quiet, but the soft jazz number sounded like the band was in the room with us. I went to look at his mind-boggling music collection.

"How do you have these organized?" I wondered.

"Ummm, by year, and then by personal preference within that frame," he said absently.

I turned, and he was looking at me with a peculiar expression in his eyes.

"What?"

"I was prepared to feel... relieved. Having you know about everything, not needing to keep secrets from you. But I didn't expect to feel more than that. I like it. It makes me... happy." He shrugged, smiling slightly.

"I'm glad," I said, smiling back, but then, as his eyes dissected my expression, his smile faded and his forehead creased.

"You're still waiting for the running and the screaming, aren't you?"

A faint smile touched his lips, and he shrugged. "Not exactly, I'd expected Bella to be that way, but I guess life is just full of surprises."

"Good to know you think that way because I'd hate to burst your bubble, by letting you know that you're really not as scary as you think you are. I don't find you scary at all, actually," I said casually.

He stopped, raising his eyebrows in blatant disbelief. Then he flashed a wide, wicked smile.

"You really shouldn't have said that," he chuckled.

He growled, a low sound in the back of his throat; his lips curled back over his perfect teeth. His body shifted suddenly, half-crouched, tensed like a lion about to pounce.

I backed away from him, glaring.

"You wouldn't."

I didn't see him leap at me— it was much too fast. I only found myself suddenly airborne, and then we crashed onto the sofa, knocking it into the wall. All the while, his arms formed an iron cage of protection around me— I was barely jostled. But I still was gasping as I tried to right myself.

He wasn't having that. He curled me into a ball against his chest, holding me more securely than iron chains. I glared at him in alarm, but he seemed well in control, his jaw relaxed as he grinned, his eyes bright only with humor.

"You were saying?" he growled playfully.

"That you are so not scary, but I still adore you?" I offered.

He snorted than thought for a moment. "I'll take what I can get," he approved with a shrug.

"Um." I struggled. "Can I get up now?"

He just laughed.

I struggled to free myself, but Mason merely readjusted me so that I was somewhat more conventionally seated on his lap.

I rolled my eyes. "As much as I'd love to stay with you alone in your mansion, can you take me to Bella? We're supposed to come up with some excuse before we meet Charlie for lunch."

In less than five minutes, we were in front of Bella's truck where she was waiting for me in the driver's seat. Mason kissed me and left, but thankfully not before coming up with a good excuse for Charlie, which I then told Bella. Bella and I got out of the truck and walked up to the door. We entered the café and walked towards a table where Charlie was waiting for us.

"Sorry we're late, had Biology project to do," Bella lied. Bravo, Bella, first time you're good at lying.

"I ordered you the spinach salad, and Miles the same as mine, if that's okay?" Charlie asked us.

"No, that's fine," I said, smiling a small smile at him.

"Maybe the two of you should order one whole for yourselves next time," Bella told us and the same waitress from before put down the plates. "Cut back on the steak."

"Hey," Charlie said. "I am as healthy as a horse."

"As am I," I added with a shrug. "I hate spinach."

"Say, chief," the waitress said, we looked up at her. "The boys want to know, did you find anything down by Queets River today?"

That was when we realized that we were being watched by the others at the next table and the other one. Charlie looked at them before sighing. "Yeah, we found a bare human footprint, but it looks like whoever it is, is headed east, so Kitsap County is going to take over from here," he told her.

I frowned and looked at Bella who was mirroring my frown. "Human footprints," I whispered.

She pursed her lips. "Do you think that maybe... it's caused by... their kind?"

I bit my lower lip. "I have a hunch," I admitted. "I... have a feeling it is... we'll talk about this at home, Bells." She nodded.

I grabbed Charlie's hand into mine and squeezed it gently, comforting him. He looked up and smiled before raising an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Looks like your friends are flagging you," Charlie said.

Bella and I looked at each other before looking behind us. I merely raised a brow, completely unimpressed at the sight awaiting us while Bella swiftly looked away, embarrassed; Mike had been doing some sort of bizarre dance in front of the window while shouting a funny tune.

When we got back home that night, I decided to go around the woods for a bit of alone time. After about thirty minutes had passed, I went back and made my way up to Bella's room to see what she was up to. When I opened the door, I found myself not feeling surprised in the least upon finding Bronzy there watching Bella sleep.

"… that's creepy and disturbing, you know," I spoke bluntly before I made my way towards the wooden rocking chair in the corner of Bella's room.

He chuckled softly. "It's... interesting," he replied.

I rolled my eyes. "I bet it is. At least my boyfriend doesn't stare at me all night," I muttered, then I frowned. "… I think."

He chuckled again. "You're quite... interesting as well," he said.

I froze. "You've been watching me sleep?!" I hissed.

He shrugged, walking over to me. "You're quite fascinating."

I glared at him and crossed my arms over my chest. "Really? And how so?"

He picked me up and took my place, sitting me down on his lap. I tried to pull away, but he had a firm grip on me. "You glow when you sleep," he murmured.

I froze as my eyes widened in shock. "… what?" was the only unintelligible reply I could muster as I sat there, dumbfounded by this revelation.

I glow? Seriously? Is that some sick joke? How can I glow? For all I know, if something 'magical' happened to me while sleeping, I'd be on fire, not glowing.

"What are you thinking?" he whispered in my ear.

"Can't you read my mind?" I retorted the question with another one of my own.

Bronzy shook his head. "No... well, only when you let me or subconsciously let your guard down; you have such a thick and tall brick wall I don't think even Aro could go through."

I tensed upon hearing that name; why did that sound familiar?

"What?"

I felt all expression leave my face. "Nothing," I replied in monotone.

His cold breath tickled the crook of my neck. "Tell me, what's wrong?"

I frowned. Why was he acting this way? As if we were a... a... a...

Oh,  _hell_  no.

I yanked myself away, bolting up off his freezing lap and in the blink of an eye, I was crouching on the other side of the room, glaring at him. How did I get there?

I have no shiting idea.

He stared at me, wide-eyed. "M-Mila... I-I—"

"Don't," I snarled. "Just— do us both a favor and stay away from me."

I made my way towards the doors, paying extra attention to every single thing, but stopped and frowned at the door. "Goodnight," I said monotonously. And with that, I left the room and went to take a shower before getting some sleep.

The next day went by rather too fast for my liking; it was after lunch that things began to slow down. Charlie was cleaning out his rifle while I was finishing up my homework and Bella was getting Charlie another beer before telling the news. I stopped my writing to look up and watch the fun as it began.

"Hey, got you another one," Bella said, passing the beer in front of her dad.

"Thanks," Charlie muttered as he paid more attention to cleaning the rifle.

"I have a date with Edward Cullen," Bella blurted out.

Charlie looked at Bella, blinking at her.

Charlie was the one to recover first. "He's a little old for you, isn't he?" Got that right.

"No," Bella replied. "He's a junior, I'm a junior."

I shook my head and returned to my homework, still keeping an ear to them, listening intently.

"I thought you liked the Cullens," Bella said.

Charlie looked back at her and retorted. "I thought you didn't like any of the boys in town."

I smiled as I wrote a paragraph about wolves' habitats; trust Charlie to make a comment like that.

"Edward doesn't live in town," Bella replied. "Technically."

Ah, technicalities— gotta love 'em.

Charlie looked up at Bella for a moment before looking at me with a 'really?' look on his face, setting his beer down.

"Mila's coming too... with her boyfriend," she blurted out. Oh,  _hell_  to the no. She did not just say that.

Charlie looked at me and blinked a few times in shock. "B-boyfriend?"

I glared at Bella. "Yeah. He's just a... few months older than me—" Centuries, probably. "— but he's really... awesome and... he gets me. He doesn't pressure me or push into doing anything I don't want to do," I said. "His name is Mason Di Angelis. He's amazing in school and as a friend and… boyfriend, and don't worry, we won't do anything inappropriate. I'm still too young for that and don't really know what the inappropriate things are... though I don't think I really want to know..."

Charlie looked at me for a moment before sighing in relief. "Alright, okay. As long he is the way you said he is, then I'm fine with it, but if he hurts you, don't blame me for having my shotgun ready."

When Bella and Bronzy walked out of the house, I couldn't help but glare at them. I would've strangled them if it weren't for Mason standing beside me, holding me back.

"Anyway," Mason said, smiling in spite of himself as he walked into the room, "Alice told us there's going to be a real storm tonight."

Bronzy nodded. "Yes, and Emmett and Jasper want to play ball. Are you game?"

The words were all common enough, but the context confused me. I knew that Alice was a bit more reliable than the weatherman, but seriously?

My eyes still lit up, but then confusion washed over me.

"I don't mind," Bella said. Both boys nodded before turning to me.

"Do you want to go?" Mason asked me, seemingly excited.

"Sure." I couldn't disappoint such a face. "Um, where are we going?"

"We have to wait for thunder to play ball— you'll see why," Bronzy promised.

"Will we need an umbrella?" Bella asked.

Both boys laughed.

"Will they?" Mason asked Bronzy.

"No." He was positive. "Alice said the storm will hit over town. It should be dry enough in the clearing."

"Good, then." The enthusiasm in Mason's voice was catching, naturally. I found myself eager, rather than scared stiff.

"What will we be playing?" Bella demanded.

"You both will be watching," Bronzy clarified. "We will be playing baseball."

I rolled my eyes. "Vampires like baseball?"

"It's the American pastime," he said with mock solemnity.

It was just beginning to drizzle when Bronzy turned onto our street. The four of us had decided to hang out at the Cullens' place until it was time for the game but we still had to tell Charlie about it, that's why Bronzy was bringing Bell and I back. Up until that moment, I'd had no doubt that both, him and Mason, would be staying with us while we spent a few interim hours in the real world.

And then I saw the black car, a weathered Ford, parked in Charlie's driveway— and heard Bronzy mutter something unintelligible in a low, harsh voice while Mason just rolled his eyes.

Leaning away from the rain under the shallow front porch, Jacob Black stood behind his father's wheelchair. Billy's face was impassive as stone as Bronzy parked Bella's truck against the curb. Jacob stared down, his expression mortified.

Bronzy's low voice was furious. "This is crossing the line."

"He came to warn Charlie," I guessed.

Bronzy just nodded, answering Billy's gaze through the rain with narrowed eyes.

I felt weak with relief that Charlie wasn't home yet.

"Let me deal with this," I suggested. Bronzy's black glare made me anxious.

To my surprise, he agreed. "That's probably best. Be careful, though. The child has no idea."

I bridled a little at the word child. "Jacob is not that much younger than Bella or me," I reminded him.

He looked at me then, his anger abruptly fading. "Oh, I know," he assured me with a grin.

I sighed and put my hand on the door handle.

"Get them inside," he instructed, "so we can leave. We'll be back around dusk."

"Do you want my truck?" Bella offered. I rolled my eyes; how we would explain its absence to Charlie?

He rolled his eyes. "I could walk home faster than this truck moves."

"You don't have to leave," Bella said wistfully.

"Yes, he does— they do," I was quick to cut in.

Bronzy smiled slightly my way. "Actually, I do," he agreed. "After you get rid of them"— he threw a dark glance in the Blacks' direction— "you still have to prepare Charlie to meet your new boyfriend." He grinned widely, showing all of his teeth.

Bella groaned. "Thanks a lot."

I rolled my eyes as Mason looked back at me and smiled the warm smile that I loved. "I'll see you soon," he promised.

His eyes flickered back to the porch, and then he leaned in from the truck's bed to swiftly kiss me just under the edge of my jaw. My heart lurched frantically, and I, too, glanced toward the porch. Billy's face was no longer impassive, and his hands clutched at the armrests of his chair, though I was glad he wasn't looking at Mason and I.

"Soon," I stressed as I opened the door and stepped out into the rain, Bella by my side.

I could feel their eyes on our backs as we half-ran through the light sprinkle toward the porch.

"Hey, Billy. Hi, Jacob." Bella greeted them as cheerfully as she could manage. "Charlie's gone for the day— I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"Not long," Billy said in a subdued tone. His black eyes were piercing. "I just wanted to bring this up." He indicated a brown paper sack resting in his lap.

"Thanks," I butt in, though I had no idea what it could be. "Why don't you come in for a minute and dry off?"

I pretended to be oblivious to his intense scrutiny toward Bella as I unlocked the door, and waved them in ahead of us.

"Here, let me take that," I offered, turning to shut the door.

I allowed myself one last glance at Mason and Bronzy. They were waiting, perfectly still, Bronzy's eyes solemn while Mason's held amusement. He winked at me when he noticed me looking, making me roll my eyes. Cocky hybrid bastard...

"You'll want to put it in the fridge," Billy noted as he handed me the package once I shut the door. "It's some of Harry Clearwater's homemade fish fry— Charlie's favorite. The fridge keeps it drier." He shrugged.

"Thanks," I repeated, but with feeling this time as I silently wondered who on earth Harry Clearwater was.

Bella nodded. "Yeah, thanks. I was running out of new ways to fix fish, and he's bound to bring home more tonight."

"Fishing again?" Billy asked with a subtle gleam in his eye. "Down at the usual spot? Maybe I'll run by and see him."

"No," she quickly lied, her face going hard. "He was headed someplace new... but I have no idea where."

He took in her changed expression, and it made him thoughtful.

"Jake," he said, still appraising Bella as I shifted from one foot to another, feeling awkward just being here. "Why don't you go get that new picture of Rebecca out of the car? I'll leave that for Charlie, too."

"Where is it?" Jacob asked, his voice morose. I glanced at him, but he was staring at the floor, his eyebrows pulling together.

"I think I saw it in the trunk," Billy said. "You may have to dig for it."

Jacob slouched back out into the rain.

Billy and Bella faced each other in silence as I simply stood there, feeling out of place. After a few seconds, the quiet started to feel even more awkward, so I turned and headed to the kitchen. I could hear his wet wheels squeak against the linoleum as he followed and Bella.

I shoved the bag onto the crowded top shelf of the fridge and spun around to confront them. His deeply lined face was unreadable.

"Charlie won't be back for a long time." I frowned. Bella's voice was almost rude.

He nodded in agreement but said nothing.

"Thanks again for the fish fry," she hinted.

He continued nodding. I watched as she sighed and folded her arms across her chest.

He seemed to sense that she had given up on small talk. I don't blame her, I probably would've given up after the 'hi.'

"Bella," he said, and then he hesitated.

She waited.

"Bella," he said again, "Charlie is one of my best friends."

"Yes."

He spoke each word carefully in his rumbling voice. "I noticed you've been spending time with one of the Cullens."

"Yes," she repeated curtly.

His eyes narrowed. "Maybe it's none of my business, but I don't think that is such a good idea."

"You're right," she agreed. "It is none of your business." Okay, she is seriously being rude.

He raised his graying eyebrows at her tone. "You probably don't know this, but the Cullen family has an unpleasant reputation on the reservation."

"Actually, I did know that," she informed him in a hard voice. This surprised him... and me. "But that reputation couldn't be deserved, could it? Because the Cullens never set foot on the reservation, do they?" I could see that her less than subtle reminder of the agreement that both bound and protected his tribe pulled him up short.

"That's true," he acceded, his eyes guarded. "You seem... well informed about the Cullens. More informed than I expected."

She stared him down. "Maybe even better informed than you are."

This time, I gave her a hard glare which, being her stubborn self, she ignored, knowing it would've made her feel guilty for acting this way.

Billy pursed his thick lips as he considered that. "Maybe," he allowed, but his eyes were shrewd. "Is Charlie as well informed?"

He had found the weak chink in her armor. Well, she is pretty obvious and very easy to figure out... except for Bronzy. Ha, sucker... literally... Moving on.

"Charlie likes the Cullens a lot," Bella hedged. He clearly understood her evasion. His expression was unhappy, but unsurprised.

"It's not my business," he said. "But it may be Charlie's."

"Though it would be my business, again, whether or not I think that it's Charlie's business, right?"

I wondered if he even understood her confused question as she struggled not to say anything compromising. But he seemed to. He thought about it while the rain picked up against the roof, the only sound breaking the silence.

"Yes," he finally surrendered. "I guess that's your business, too."

Bella sighed with relief. "Thanks, Billy."

"Just think about what you're doing, Bella," he urged.

"Okay," she agreed quickly. I frowned and looked down at my feet.

He frowned. "What I meant to say was, don't do what you're doing."

I looked up and found him looking into my eyes, filled with nothing but concern for me as well, and there was nothing I could say.

"I'm just tagging along. I... still have my trust issues, so..." I trailed off, not sure exactly what else to say even though I wasn't lying; my words seemed to relieve him, though.

Just then the front door banged loudly, and Bella jumped at the sound while I simply turned my head in the direction of the sound.

"There's no picture anywhere in that car." Jacob's complaining voice reached us before he did. The shoulders of his shirt were stained with the rain, his hair dripping, when he rounded the corner.

"Hmm," Billy grunted, suddenly detached, spinning his chair around to face his son. "I guess I left it at home."

Jacob rolled his eyes dramatically. "Great."

"Well, Bella, tell Charlie—" Billy paused before continuing. "—that we stopped by, I mean."

"I will," she muttered.

Jacob was surprised. "Are we leaving already?"

"Charlie's gonna be out late," Billy explained as he rolled himself past Jacob.

"Oh." Jacob looked disappointed. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, then, Mila. Bye, Bella."

"Sure," I agreed.

"Take care," Billy warned her, but he also glanced at me. I nodded while Bella simply stared, not answering.

Jacob helped his father out the door. I waved briefly, glancing swiftly toward Bella's now empty truck, and then shut the door before they were gone.

I stood in the hallway for a minute, listening to Bella's loud steps as she went up to her room and to the sound of their car as it backed out and drove away. I stayed where I was, waiting for the irritation and anxiety to subside. When the tension eventually faded a bit, I headed upstairs too, to change out of my dressy clothes.

I tried on a couple of different tops, not sure what to expect tonight. As I concentrated on what was coming, what had just passed became insignificant. Now that I was removed from Bronzy's and Mason's influence, I began to make up for not being terrified before. I gave up quickly on choosing an outfit— throwing on an old flannel shirt and jeans— knowing I would be in my raincoat all night anyway.

The phone rang, and I heard Bella sprint downstairs to get it. I drowned every sound and sat on my bed, old memories coming back to me. Memories I never thought I would remember.

There was only one voice I somehow wanted to hear; anything else would be a disappointment. But I knew that if he wanted to talk to me, see me... think of me, he'd probably just materialize in my room.

"Hello?" I heard Bella asked, breathless.

"Bella? It's me," Jessica said.

Groaning, I tuned them out and until I heard Charlie's car in the garage.

"Did you ever hear anything more from Edward Cullen?"

The front door slammed, and I could hear Charlie banging around under the stairs, putting his tackle away.

"Um." Bella hesitated.

"Hi there, kiddo!" Charlie called as he walked into the kitchen. "Is Mila here?"

There was a silence, so I'm guessing Bella nodded in response.

"Oh, your dad's there. Never mind— we'll talk tomorrow. See you in Trig," Jessica said from the other end of the line.

"See ya, Jess." Bella hung up the phone. "Hey, Dad. Where's the fish?"

"I put it out in the freezer."

"I'll go grab a few pieces before they freeze— Billy dropped off some of Harry Clearwater's fish fry this afternoon."

Bella worked really hard to sound enthusiastic, but even with real enthusiasm, it would've still taken a while to convince Charlie to let us go with the Cullens to 'play' baseball. Eventually, he let us, and I was somewhat relieved about that; I have no idea why baseball's like and I was curious about it. What I couldn't stop wondering, though, was how on earth did Bella and Bronzy manage to even become a couple if they won't stop bickering.

I couldn't help but laugh when tonight's date was brought up again as we ate dinner. I couldn't tell if Charlie was pretending or not, but he seemed to have completely forgotten the conversation he and Bella had had a few days ago about our boyfriends. It was actually quite hilarious, if I do say so myself.

"Well, I sort of have a date with Edward Cullen tonight, remember... Dad?" Bella said to him.

It appeared that Charlie was having an aneurysm.

"Dad, are you all right?"

"You are going out with Edward Cullen?" he thundered.

Uh-oh... did he seriously forget? "I thought you liked the Cullens."

"He's too old for you," he ranted.

"They're both juniors," I butt in. "As is my boyfriend."

"Wait..." He paused. "Which one is Edwin?"

Bella frowned. "Edward is the youngest, the one with the reddish brown hair." He, he, Bronzy...

"Oh, well, that's"— he struggled— "better, I guess. I don't like the look of that big one. I'm sure he's a nice boy and all, but he looks too... mature for you. Is this Edwin your boyfriend?"

"It's Edward, Dad."

"Is he?"

"Sort of, I guess."

"You said last night that you weren't interested in any of the boys in town." But he picked up his fork again, so I could see the worst was over.

"Well, Edward doesn't live in town, Dad."

He gave Bella a disparaging look as he chewed, glancing my way every now and then.

"And, anyway," I continued for Bella, "it's kind of at an early stage, you know. Don't embarrass us with all the boyfriend talk, okay?"

"When are they coming over?" Oh, so now he remembers about both of them.

"They'll be here in a few minutes."

"Where are they taking you both?"

I groaned loudly. "I hope you're getting the Spanish Inquisition out of your system now. We're going to play baseball with Bronz— Ed— Cullen's family."

His face puckered, and then he finally chuckled. "You're playing baseball?" Though the emphasis seemed to be meant for Bella more than me.

"Well, we'll probably watch most of the time."

"You must really like this guy," he observed suspiciously before turning to me. "What about you and Jason."

I rolled my eyes. "Mason, and yes I guess I do like him… quite some," I admitted before giving him a pleading look. "Please let me try this. I know it's my first, but I've never even been close to even witness something like this. I don't know what it's like exactly, but I really like this, and I really, really like him... so, please?"

I didn't have to explain any further. He knew what I was talking about— what I was asking for; I wanted space in my relationship. No overprotective godfather slash police chief always on my back, monitoring the whole thing. No judging, even less, threatening my first official boyfriend who I now am madly infatuated with while silently hoping I won't regret feeling this way for him in the future.

Charlie looked at me for a moment, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed. "You must really like him," he murmured, almost to himself.

I took a deep breath and gave him a slight nod, ignoring Bella confused gaze. "I really do."

Just then, I heard the roar of an engine pull up in front of the house. Bella jumped up and started cleaning her dishes as I slowly got to my feet after a defeated nod from Charlie to my pleads.

"Leave the dishes, I can do them tonight. You two baby me too much."

The doorbell rang, and Charlie stalked off to answer it. Bella and I were half a step behind him. I hadn't realized how hard it was pouring outside. Mason stood in the halo of the porch light, looking like a male model in an advertisement for raincoats, with Bronzy by his side.

"Come on in, _Edward_ and Mason." I breathed a sigh of relief when Charlie got Mason's name right, guiltily not really caring about Bronzy.

"Thanks, Chief Swan," Bronzy said in a respectful voice.

"Go ahead and call me Charlie. Here, I'll take your jackets."

"Thanks, sir."

"Have a seat there, boys."

I grimaced. Bronzy and Mason sat down fluidly in the only chair, forcing Bella and I to sit next to Chief Swan on the sofa. I quickly shot them a dirty look. Mason winked behind Charlie's back, while Bronzy followed his similar discreet gesture with a mischievous smile of his own.

"So I hear you're getting my girls to watch baseball." Only in Washington would the fact that it was raining buckets have no bearing at all on the playing of outdoor sports.

"Yes, sir, that's the plan." He didn't look surprised that we'd told Charlie the truth. He might have been listening, though.

"Well, more power to you, I guess."

Charlie laughed, and Bronzy and Mason joined in.

"Okay." I stood up. "Enough humor at our expense. Let's go." I walked back to the hall and pulled on my jacket, handing Bella hers. They followed.

"Not too late, girls."

"Don't worry, Charlie, we'll have them home early," Mason promised.

"You take care of them, all right?"

Bella groaned, but they ignored her.

"They'll be safe with us, I promise, sir."

Charlie couldn't doubt their sincerity, it rang in every word. I stalked out, Bella right beside me. The three laughed, and Bronzy and Mason followed us. We stopped dead on the porch. There, behind Bella's truck, was a monster Jeep. Its tires were higher than my waist. There were metal guards over the headlights and tail-lights, and four large spotlights attached to the crash bar. The hardtop was shiny red.

Charlie let out a low whistle. "Wear your seat belts," he choked out.

Mason followed me around to my side and opened the door. I gauged the distance to the seat and prepared to jump for it. He sighed, and then lifted me in with one hand. I hoped Charlie didn't notice. As he climbed in after me, and Bronzy went around to the driver's side after helping Bella into her seat, at a normal, human pace, I tried to put on my seat belt. But there were too many buckles.

"What's all this?" Bella asked, taking the words right out of my mouth when he opened the door.

"Don't be mad, I couldn't help myself. You should have seen your face." He chuckled before he could stop himself.

"Oh, you're the only one who's allowed to get mad?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I wasn't mad at you."

"'Bella, you'll be the death of me'?" I chimed in, quoting him, sourly.

"That was simply a statement of fact."

I could see Bella trying to turn away from him again, but he held her fast.

"You were mad," she insisted.

"Yes."

"But you just said—"

"That I wasn't mad at you. Can't you see that, Bella?" He was suddenly intense, all trace of teasing gone. "Don't you understand?"

"See what?" she demanded, probably as confused as I was by his sudden mood swing as much as his words.

"I'm never angry with you— how could I be? Brave, trusting... warm as you are."

"Then why?" she whispered.

He put his hands carefully on both sides of her face. "I infuriate myself," he said gently. "The way I can't seem to keep from putting you in danger. My very existence puts you at risk. Sometimes I truly hate myself. I should be stronger, I should be able to—"

She placed her hand over his mouth. "Don't."

"Yes, please don't, and just drive already before you sicken me to the point where I jump out of this stupid monster," I snapped, making Mason chuckle and Bronzy to roll his eyes.

Bella nodded quickly. "You promised Chief Swan that you would have us home early, remember? We'd better get going."

"Yes, ma'am."

He smiled wistfully before starting the car and driving us to our destination at the edge of the woods. Once there, he took hold of one of Bella's hands while Mason held onto mine as they led us a few feet through the tall, wet ferns and draping moss, around a massive hemlock tree, and we were there, on the edge of an enormous open field in the lap of the Olympic peaks. It was twice the size of any baseball stadium.

I could see the others all there; Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie, sitting on a bare outcropping of rock, were the closest to us, maybe a hundred yards away. Much farther out I could see Jasper and Alice, at least a quarter of a mile apart, appearing to throw something back and forth, but I never saw any ball. It looked like Carlisle was marking bases, but could they really be that far apart?

When we came into view, the three on the rocks rose.

Esme started toward us. Emmett followed after a long look at Rosalie's back; Rosalie had risen gracefully and strode off toward the field without a glance in our direction.

"Was that you we heard, Edward?" Esme asked as she approached.

"It sounded like a bear choking," Emmett clarified.

Bella smiled hesitantly at Esme as I stared at them in confusion. Had I missed something while we were on our way here? "That was him." Huh, apparently I did.

"Bella was being unintentionally funny," Bronzy explained, quickly settling the score.

Alice had left her position and was running, or dancing, toward us. She hurtled to a fluid stop at our feet. "It's time," she announced.

As soon as she spoke, a deep rumble of thunder shook the forest beyond us, and then crashed westward toward town.

"Eerie, isn't it?" Emmett said with easy familiarity, winking at me.

"Let's go." Alice reached for Emmett's hand, and they darted toward the oversized field; she ran like a gazelle. He was nearly as graceful and just as fast— yet Emmett could never be compared to a gazelle.

"Are you ready for some ball?" Bronzy asked, his eyes eager, bright.

Bella looked at me, and I simply shrugged. We tried to sound appropriately enthusiastic. "Go team!"

Mason snickered and, after mussing my hair, as Bronzy simply chuckled and shook his head before the both of them bounded off after the other two. Their run was more aggressive, cheetahs rather than a gazelle, and they quickly overtook them. The grace and power took my breath away.

"Shall we go down?" Esme asked in her soft, melodic voice, and I realized I was staring open-mouthed after them. I quickly reassembled my expression and nodded. Esme kept a few feet between us, and I wondered if she was still being careful not to frighten me. She matched her stride to mine without seeming impatient at the pace.

"You don't play with them?" Bella asked shyly.

"No, I prefer to referee— I like keeping them honest," she explained.

"Do they like to cheat, then?"

"Oh, yes— you should hear the arguments they get into! Actually, I hope you don't, you would think they were raised by a pack of wolves."

"You sound like my mom," Bella laughed, surprised. I was left frowning.

She laughed, too. "Well, I do think of them as my children in most ways. I never could get over my mothering instincts— did Edward tell you I had lost a child?"

"No," Bella murmured, probably as stunned as I was.

"Yes, my first and only baby. He died just a few days after he was born, the poor tiny thing," she sighed. "It broke my heart— that's why I jumped off the cliff, you know," she added matter-of-factly.

"Edward just said you f-fell," Bella stammered.

"Always the gentleman." Esme smiled. "Edward was the first of my new sons. I've always thought of him that way, even though he's older than I, in one way at least." She smiled at us warmly. "That's why I'm so happy that he's found you, dear." The endearment sounded very natural on her lips. "He's been the odd man out for far too long; it's hurt me to see him alone."

"You don't mind, then?" Belles asked, hesitant again. "That I'm... all wrong for him?"

"No." She was thoughtful. "You're what he wants. It will work out, somehow," she said, though her forehead creased with worry. Another peal of thunder began.

Esme stopped then; apparently, we'd reached the edge of the field. It looked as if they had formed teams. Bronzy was far out in left field, Carlisle stood between the first and second bases, and Alice held the ball, positioned on the spot that must be the pitcher's mound.

Emmett was swinging an aluminum bat; it whistled almost untraceably through the air. I waited for him to approach home plate, but then I realized, as he took his stance, that he was already there— farther from the pitcher's mound than I would have thought possible. Jasper stood several feet behind him, catching for the other team. Of course, none of them had gloves.

"All right," Esme called in a clear voice, which I knew even Bronzy would hear, as far out as he was. "Batter up."

Alice stood straight, deceptively motionless. Her style seemed to be stealth rather than an intimidating windup. She held the ball in both hands at her waist, and then, like the strike of a cobra, her right hand flicked out, and the ball smacked into Jasper's hand.

"Was that a strike?" I heard Bella whisper to Esme.

"If they don't hit it, it's a strike," she told her.

Jasper hurled the ball back to Alice's waiting hand. She permitted herself a brief grin. And then her hand spun out again.

This time the bat somehow made it around in time to smash into the invisible ball. The crack of impact was shattering, thunderous; it echoed off the mountains— I immediately understood the necessity of the thunderstorm.

The ball shot like a meteor above the field, flying deep into the surrounding forest.

"Home run," I murmured.

"Wait," Esme cautioned, listening intently, one hand raised. Emmett was a blur around the bases, Carlisle shadowing him. I realized Bronzy was missing.

"Out!" Esme cried in a clear voice. I stared in disbelief as Bronzy sprang from the fringe of the trees, ball in his upraised hand, his wide grin visible even to me.

"Emmett hits the hardest," Esme explained, "but Edward runs the fastest."

The inning continued before my incredulous eyes. It was impossible to keep up with the speed at which the ball flew, the rate at which their bodies raced around the field.I learned the other reason they waited for a thunderstorm to play when Jasper, trying to avoid Bronzy's infallible fielding, hit a ground ball toward Carlisle. Carlisle ran into the ball, and then raced Jasper to first base. When they collided, the sound was like the crash of two massive falling boulders. I jumped up in concern, but they were somehow unscathed.

"Safe," Esme called in a calm voice.

Emmett's team was up by one— Rosalie managed to flit around the bases after tagging up on one of Emmett's long flies— when, this time, Mason caught the third out. He sprinted to my side, sparkling with excitement.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"One thing's for sure, I'll never be able to sit through dull old Major League Baseball again."

"And it sounds like you did so much of that before," he laughed.

"I am a little disappointed," I teased.

"Why?" he asked, puzzled.

"Well, it would be nice if I could find just one thing you didn't do better than everyone else on the planet."

He flashed his special smile, emerald eyes sparkling, leaving me breathless.

"I'm up," he said, heading for the plate.

He played intelligently, keeping the ball low, out of the reach of Rosalie's always-ready hand in the outfield, gaining two bases like lightning before Emmett could get the ball back in play. Carlisle knocked one so far out of the field— with a boom that hurt my ears— that he and Bronzy both made it in. Alice slapped them dainty high fives.

The score constantly changed as the game continued, and they razzed each other like any street ballplayers as they took turns with the lead. Occasionally Esme would call them to order. The thunder rumbled on, but we stayed dry, as Alice had predicted.

Carlisle was up to bat, Bronzy catching, when Alice suddenly gasped. My eyes were on Mason, as usual, and I saw his head snap up with Bronzy's, in sync, to look at her. Their eyes met, and something flowed between them in an instant. Mason was at my side, and Bronzy at Bella's before the others could ask Alice what was wrong.

"Alice?" Esme's voice was tense.

"I didn't see— I couldn't tell," she whispered.

All the others were gathered at this time.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked with the calm voice of authority.

"They were traveling much quicker than I thought. I can see I had the perspective wrong before," she murmured.

Jasper leaned over her, his posture protective. "What changed?" he asked.

"They heard us playing, and it changed their path," she said, contrite as if she felt responsible for whatever had frightened her.

Seven pairs of quick eyes flashed to Bella's face, then mine, and away.

"How soon?" Carlisle said, turning toward Bronzy.

A look of intense concentration crossed his face.

"Less than five minutes. They're running— they want to play." He scowled.

"Can you make it?" Carlisle asked him, his eyes flicking toward me again.

"No, not carrying—" He cut short. "Besides, the last thing we need is for them to catch the scent and start hunting."

"How many?" I asked Alice.

"Three," she answered tersely.

"Three!" Emmett scoffed. "Let them come." The steel bands of muscle flexed along his massive arms.

For a split second that seemed much longer than it really was, Carlisle deliberated. Only Emmett seemed unperturbed; the rest stared at Carlisle's face with anxious eyes.

"Let's just continue the game," Carlisle finally decided. His voice was cool and level. "Alice said they were simply curious."

All this was said in a flurry of words that lasted only a few seconds. I had listened carefully and caught most of it, though I couldn't hear what Esme now asked Bronzy with a silent vibration of her lips. I only saw the slight shake of his head and the look of relief on her face.

"You catch, Esme," he said. "I'll call it now."

And Mason planted himself in front of me as Edward stood in front of Bella.

The others returned to the field, warily sweeping the dark forest with their sharp eyes. Alice and Esme seemed to orient themselves around where I stood.

"Take your hair down," Edward said in a low, even voice.

Bella obediently slid the rubber band out of her hair and shook it out around her.

I stated the obvious. "The others are coming now."

"Yes, stay very still, keep quiet, and don't move from my side, please." He hid the stress in his voice well, but I could hear it. Mason pulled my long hair forward, around my face.

"That won't help," Alice said softly. "I could smell her across the field."

"I know." A hint of frustration colored Edward's tone.

Carlisle stood at the plate, and the others joined the game halfheartedly.

"What did Esme ask you?" I heard Bella whisper.

He hesitated for a second before he answered. "Whether they were thirsty," he muttered unwillingly.

I looked up at Mason, then at Edward. "Are they?" He didn't answer.

The seconds ticked by; the game progressed with apathy now. No one dared to hit harder than a bunt, and Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper hovered in the infield. Now and again, despite the fear that numbed my brain, I was aware of Rosalie's eyes on me. They were expressionless, but something about the way she held her mouth made me think she was angry.

Edward and Mason paid no attention to the game at all, eyes and mind ranging the forest.

"I'm sorry," he muttered fiercely. "It was stupid, irresponsible, to expose you like this. I'm so sorry."

I heard his breath stop, and his eyes zeroed in on the right field. They both took a half step, angling themselves between Bella and me, and what was coming.

Carlisle, Emmett, and the others turned in the same direction, hearing sounds of passage much too faint for my ears.


	17. The plan

They emerged one by one from the forest edge, ranging a dozen meters apart. The first male into the clearing fell back immediately, allowing the other male to take the front, orienting himself around the tall, dark-haired man in a manner that clearly displayed who led the pack. The third was a woman; from this distance, all I could see of her was that her hair was a startling shade of red.

They closed ranks before they continued cautiously toward Edward's family, exhibiting the natural respect of a troop of predators as it encounters a larger, unfamiliar group of its own kind.

As they approached, I could see how different they were from the Cullens, and... them as well. Their walk was catlike, a gait that constantly seemed on the edge of shifting into a crouch. They dressed in the ordinary gear of backpackers: jeans and casual button-down shirts in heavy, weatherproof fabrics. The clothes were frayed, though, with wear, and they were barefoot. Both men had cropped hair, but the woman's brilliant orange hair was filled with leaves and debris from the woods.

Their sharp eyes carefully took in the more polished, urbane stance of Carlisle, who, flanked by Emmett and Jasper, stepped guardedly forward to meet them. Without any seeming communication between them, they each straightened into a more casual, erect bearing.

The man in front was easily the most beautiful, his skin olive-toned beneath the typical pallor, his hair a glossy black. He was of a medium build, hard-muscled, of course, but nothing next to Emmett's brawn.

He smiled an easy smile, exposing a flash of gleaming white teeth.

The woman was wilder, her eyes shifting restlessly between the men facing her, and the loose grouping around me, her chaotic hair quivering in the slight breeze. Her posture was distinctly feline. The second male hovered unobtrusively behind them, slighter than the leader, his light brown hair and regular features both nondescript. His eyes, though completely still, somehow seemed the most vigilant.

Their eyes were different, too. Not the gold or black I had come to expect, but a deep burgundy color that was disturbing and sinister.

The dark—haired man, still smiling, stepped toward Carlisle.

"We thought we heard a game," he said in a relaxed voice with the slightest of French accents. "I'm Laurent, these are Victoria and James." He gestured to the vampires beside him.

Seeing as everyone was being a little rude, I couldn't help myself. "Yo."

That got their eyes going from where they were to me and narrow as they saw my neutral expression, the one I'd usually use around my... mother.

Catching my drift at keeping things as cool as possible, Carlisle continued. "I'm Carlisle. This is my family, Emmett and Jasper, Rosalie, Esme and Alice, Edward and Bella, Mason and Mila." He pointed us out in groups, deliberately not calling attention to individuals.

I felt a shock run through me when he said my name along with Mason's. I risked a sideways glance at him and could tell he was as shocked as I was about that even though he hid it quite well.

"Do you have room for a few more players?" Laurent asked sociably.

Carlisle matched Laurent's friendly tone. "Actually, we were just finishing up. But we'd certainly be interested another time. Are you planning to stay in the area for long?"

"We're headed north, in fact, but we were curious to see who was in the neighborhood. We haven't run into any company in a long time."

"No, this region is usually empty except for the occasional visitor, like yourselves, and us."

The tense atmosphere had slowly subsided into a casual conversation; I guessed that Jasper was using his peculiar gift to control the situation.

"What's your hunting range?" Laurent casually inquired.

Carlisle ignored the assumption behind the inquiry. "The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion. We keep a permanent residence nearby. There's another permanent settlement like ours up near Denali."

Laurent rocked back on his heels slightly.

"Permanent? How do you manage that?" There was an honest curiosity in his voice.

"Why don't you come back to our home with us and we can talk comfortably?" Carlisle invited. "It's a rather long story."

James and Victoria exchanged a surprised look at the mention of the word "home," but Laurent controlled his expression better.

"That sounds very interesting, and welcome." His smile was genial. "We've been on the hunt all the way down from Ontario, and we haven't had the chance to clean up in a while." His eyes moved appreciatively over Carlisle's refined appearance.

"Please don't take offense, but we'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from hunting in this immediate area. We have to stay inconspicuous, you understand," Carlisle explained.

"Of course." Laurent nodded. "We certainly won't encroach on your territory. We just ate outside of Seattle, anyway," he laughed.

A shiver ran up my spine.

"We'll show you the way if you'd like to run with us— Emmett and Alice, you can go with Edward, Bella, Mason, and Mila to get the Jeep," he casually added.

Three things seemed to happen simultaneously while Carlisle was speaking. I caught sight of Bella's hair being ruffled with the light breeze, I stiffened, and the second male, James, suddenly whipped his head around, scrutinizing my godsister, his nostrils flaring.

A swift rigidity fell on all of them as James lurched one step forward into a crouch. Edward bared his teeth, crouching in defense, a feral snarl ripping from his throat. It was one of the single most menacing things I had ever heard, and chills ran from the crown of my head to the back of my heels. Though I was just as bad; Mason wrapped an arm around me, holding me back as though I were about to do something reckless… frankly, I probably would have, had he not held me back.

"What's this?" Laurent exclaimed in open surprise.

Neither James nor Edward relaxed their aggressive poses. James feinted slightly to the side, and Edward shifted in response.

"She's with us." Carlisle's firm rebuff was directed toward James. Laurent seemed to catch her scent less powerfully than James, but awareness now dawned on his face.

"You brought a snack?" he asked, his expression incredulous as he took an involuntary step forward.

That did it for me.

I was out of Mason's grasp and in front of Bella within a second, snarling at James.

"Put a finger on her body, and I'll fuck you up so bad, you'll be in your grave for real this time, you bloodsucking asshole," I snarled.

By the way Bella shifted from behind me, I could tell she was surprised by my colorful words— heck, I was surprised. I had never sworn in my life, but threaten someone I care about, and you'll be six feet underground... if you can't crawl your way back up like these guys.

Edward snarled at them even more ferociously from beside me, harshly, his lip curling high above his glistening, bared teeth as Mason stepped on my other side, hand slipping into mine to calm me down. By now, we were like a barrier in front of Bella.

Laurent stepped back again.

"I said she's with us," Carlisle corrected in a hard voice.

"But she's human," Laurent protested. The words were not at all aggressive, merely astounded.

"We are well aware of that," I snapped, offended. Well, obviously, because I'm human too… for the most part. I'd say at least fifty percent— the other fifty is still dangling in the air, unexplained.

"Yes." Emmett was very much in evidence at Carlisle's side, his eyes on James.

James slowly straightened out of his crouch, but his eyes never left Bella, his nostrils still wide. Edward stayed tensed like a lion in front of her, beside me.

When Laurent spoke, his tone was soothing— trying to defuse the sudden hostility. "It appears we have a lot to learn about each other."

"Indeed." Carlisle's voice was still cool.

Laurent nodded. "Then, my guess is that the game is over. We'll go now. But we'd like to accept your invitation." His eyes flicked toward me and back to Carlisle. "And, of course, we will not harm either the _human_ or the girl."

I narrowed my eyes at the dark-skinned sparkly bloodsucker; yeah, just make it any more obvious that you may know what the hell I am and offend me even more by excluding me from the human species.

 "We won't hunt in your range, as I said."

"What about her." Victoria nodded her head in my direction.

Rosalie hissed, and Mason wrapped his arm around me again, his once composed mask now phased into one of anger as he snarled at the redhead even more ferociously than Edward had done merely seconds ago, his arm tight around my waist, his lip curling high above his glistening, bared teeth, emerald eyes flashing red for a moment, causing the trio to step back.

"She's mine," he growled.

James glanced in disbelief and aggravation at Laurent and exchanged another brief look with Victoria, whose eyes still flickered edgily from face to face.

Carlisle measured Laurent's open expression for a moment before he spoke. "We'll show you the way. Jasper, Rosalie, Esme?" he called.

They gathered together, blocking Bella and me from view as they converged. Alice was instantly at Bella's side while also keeping an eye on me, and Emmett fell back slowly, his eyes locked on James as he backed toward us.

"Let's go, Bella." My voice came out low and bleak as I grabbed her wrist. I tried pulling her away, but when she barely budged, which is unusual as I'm way stronger than she is, I turned to look at her and instantly felt my gaze soften as I took in her expression.

This whole time, while I'd been preparing myself to attack if it'd come to that... even though I'd probably not do much damage, Bella'd been rooted in place, terrified into absolute immobility. I had to switch my grip from her wrist to her elbow and pull sharply to break her trance. Alice and Emmett were close behind us, hiding us. She stumbled alongside my side, still stunned with fear, Edward gripping her other elbow as Mason kept an arm around me, glancing back, my guess is, at the unwanted guests. I couldn't hear if the main group had left yet. Both Edward and Mason's impatience was almost tangible as we moved at human speed to the forest edge.

Once we were into the trees, Mason slung me over his back, as Edward did Belle, without breaking stride. I gripped as tightly as possible as he took off, the others close on his heels. I kept my head down, but my eyes, wide with fright, wouldn't close. They plunged through the now—black forest like wraiths.

We reached the Jeep in an impossibly short time, and Edward barely slowed as he flung Bella in the back—seat as I literally jumped off Mason's back and slid in beside her.

"Strap her in," he ordered, earning a glare from me as Emmett slid in her other side, Mason coming beside me, lifting me slightly, so I was on his lap.

Alice was already in the front seat, and Edward was starting the engine. It roared to life, and we swerved backward, spinning around to face the winding road. Edward was growling something too fast for me to understand, but it sounded a lot like a string of profanities. The jolting trip was much worse this time, and the darkness only made it more frightening. Emmett and Alice both glared out the side windows. We hit the main road, and though our speed increased, I could see much better where we were going. And we were headed south, away from Forks.

I frowned. "Where are we going?" I asked.

No one answered. No one even looked at me.

"Dammit, _Edward_! Where are you taking us?"

"We have to get you both away from here— far away— now." He didn't look back, his eyes on the road. The speedometer read a hundred and five miles an hour.

Bella stiffened from beside me. "Turn around! You have to take me home!" she shouted. She struggled with the stupid harness, tearing at the straps.

"Emmett," Edward said grimly.

And Emmett secured her hands in his steely grasp.

"No! Edward! No, you can't do this."

"I have to, Bella, now please be quiet."

"I won't! You have to take me back— Charlie will call the FBI! They'll be all over your family— Carlisle, and Esme! They'll have to leave, to hide forever!"

"Calm down, Bella." His voice was cold. "We've been there before."

"Not over us, you don't! You're not ruining everything over us!" She struggled violently, with total futility.

Alice spoke for the first time. "Edward, pull over."

He flashed her a hard look, and then sped up.

"Edward, let's just talk this through."

"You don't understand," he roared in frustration. I'd never heard his voice so loud; it was deafening in the confines of the Jeep. The speedometer neared one hundred and fifteen. "He's a tracker, Alice, did you see that? He's a tracker!"

I felt Emmett stiffen next to me, and I wondered at his reaction to the word. It meant something more to the three of them than it did to me; I wanted to understand, but there was no opening for me to ask.

"Pull over, Edward." Alice's tone was reasonable, but there was a ring of authority in it I'd never heard before.

The speedometer inched passed one-twenty.

"Do it, Edward."

"Listen to me, Alice. I saw his mind. Tracking is his passion, his obsession— and he wants them, Alice— them, specifically. He begins the hunt tonight."

"He doesn't know where—"

He interrupted her. "How long do you think it will take him to cross her scent in town? His plan was already set before the words were out of Laurent's mouth."

Bella gasped, probably figuring out where our scent would lead. "Charlie! You can't leave him there! You can't leave him!" She thrashed against the harness.

"She's right," Alice said.

The car slowed slightly.

"Let's just look at our options for a minute," Alice coaxed.

The car slowed again, more noticeably, and then suddenly we screeched to a stop on the shoulder of the highway. I flew against the harness, and then slammed back against Mason's chest.

"There are no options," Edward hissed.

"I'm not leaving Charlie!" I snapped. "And I know neither will Bella."

He ignored me completely.

"We have to take them back," Mason finally spoke for what seemed like the first time since we left the game.

"No." Edward was absolute.

"He's no match for us, Edward," Emmett agreed. "He won't be able to touch her."

"He'll wait."

Emmett smiled. "I can wait, too."

"You didn't see— you don't understand. Once he commits to a hunt, he's unshakable. We'd have to kill him."

Emmett didn't seem upset by the idea. "That's an option."

"And the female. She's with him. If it turns into a fight, the leader will go with them, too."

"There are enough of us."

"There's another option," Alice said quietly.

Edward turned on her in a fury, his voice a blistering snarl. "There. Is. No. Other. Option!"

Emmett and Bella both stared at him in shock, but Alice seemed unsurprised. Mason and I simply gave him a cold stare. The silence lasted for a long minute as Edward and Alice stared each other down.

I cleared my throat. "I have a plan." No one replied. "Does anyone want to hear my plan?"

"No," Edward growled. Alice glared at him, finally provoked.

"That was a rhetorical question, you bastard," I snapped, glaring at him, ignoring the hand Bella placed on my forearm to tell me to calm down. "So, listen," I continued. "You take us back."

"No," he interrupted.

I harden my glare on him, feeling some color pour into its irises. They're probably bloody orange by now.

I continued. "You. Take. Us. Back. Bella tells Charlie she wants to go home to Phoenix. She packs her bags. You wait till this tracker is watching, and then you run. He'll follow you and leave Charlie alone. Charlie won't call the FBI on your family. Then you can take Bella any damned place you want."

They stared at her, stunned. I bit my lip, hoping they didn't notice I didn't mention myself throughout the whole plan.

"It's not a bad idea, really." Emmett's surprise was definitely an insult.

"It might work— and we simply can't leave her father unprotected. You know that," Alice said.

Everyone looked at Edward.

"It's too dangerous— I don't want him within a hundred miles of her."

Emmett was supremely confident. "Edward, he's not getting through us."

Alice thought for a minute. "I don't see him attacking. He'll try to wait for us to leave her alone."

"It won't take long for him to realize that's not going to happen."

"I demand that you take us home." Gods, it was pitiful how Bella tried to sound stern.

Edward pressed his fingers to his temples and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Please," she said in a much smaller voice.

He didn't look up. When he spoke, his voice sounded worn.

"You're leaving tonight, whether the tracker sees or not. You tell Charlie that you can't stand another minute in Forks. Tell him whatever story works. Pack the first things your hands touch, and then get in your truck. I don't care what he says to you. You have fifteen minutes. Do you hear me? Fifteen minutes from the time you cross the doorstep."

I sighed, they didn't notice. The Jeep rumbled to life, and he spun us around, the tires squealing. The needle on the speedometer started to race up the dial.

"Emmett?" Bella asked, looking pointedly at her hands.

"Oh, sorry." He let her loose.

"Why didn't you mention yourself in the plan," Bella asked, giving me a pointed look.

I blinked. Dammit.

"I'm not important," I replied, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath when I felt Mason's grip tighten around me.

"Don't say that," he murmured into my ear. "You'll come with me."

"No," I said firmly. "You'll go with Alice, Bella, and Jasper to the airport."

There was a thick silence.

"Mila... no one said anything about an airport yet," Alice said, looking back at me.

I recalled what I said and froze. I looked out the window before turning back and gave the Cullens a pointed look as they were the only ones to know of my little episode before the car incident a while back.

A few minutes passed in silence, other than the roar of the engine. Then Edward spoke again.

"This is how it's going to happen. When we get to the house, if the tracker is not there, I will walk her to the door. Then she has fifteen minutes." He glared at me in the rear-view mirror. "Emmett, you take the outside of the house. Alice, you get the truck. I'll be inside as long as she is. After she's out, you two can take the Jeep home and tell Carlisle."

"No way," Emmett broke in. "I'm with you."

"Think it through, Emmett. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"Until we know how far this is going to go, I'm with you."

Edward sighed. "If the tracker is there," he continued grimly, "we keep driving."

"We're going to make it there before him," Alice said confidently.

Edward seemed to accept that. Whatever his problem with Alice was, he didn't doubt her now.


	18. The call of anticipation

I sat in the driver's seat of Mason's car, heart pounding fast against my chest. It hadn't been long since they'd left, and I was left here to drown in my own worry and perplex. Worry, well, it's Bella we're talking about. Perplex, pretty much because I was able to listen in on every word Bella and Charlie exchanged, and even see it all while being about two blocks away from them.

Bella had opened the door of her to reveal Charlie. He followed as she carried her duffel and truck keys into. He continued to follow as she charged down the stairs.

"Your mother's not even in Phoenix."

"She'll come home. I'll call her from the road."

"You can't drive home now. I'll take you to the airport in the morning." I could tell he was only saying that in hopes that she'd change her mind and stay.

"I want to drive," she replied curtly. I could see the hurt in her big brown orbs. "I need time to think. I'll pull into a motel in a few hours. I promise."

She headed down the stairs. Bella reached the ground floor with Charlie on her heels. She was almost to the door when Charlie blocked her.

"Bells, I know I'm not around much, but I can change that. We can do more things together."

She took a breath before replying. "Like watch more baseball on the flat screen? Or go to the Coffee Shop? Same people, same steak, same berry cobbler every night? That's you, Dad. Not me."

This undoubtedly hit Charlie hard. Not waiting any longer, Bella headed down the stairs, as Charlie took about a second to recover.

"Bella... I just got you back."

She did not answer right away, but when she did, well... it really stung, even me.

"And if I don't get out now, I'm going to get stuck here like mom was. And as far as I know, Mila won't either, that's why she's gone."

I felt bad for Charlie. He was worried about me, having no idea where I am, and his daughter just left him. Even though it was an act, it not only worried him to death, but also hurt him.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when my phone suddenly rang. I grabbed it from my pocket and stared at it as I felt its foreign weight in my hand. I just realized... I've had this thing for about a year and I never really used it. I guess that's why it felt strange to me holding it, even more, hearing it ring.

I stared at it as it rang a few more times before finally answering.

"Mila? Are you okay? Alice couldn't see you anymore, and you weren't answering the phone..."

I blinked, staring blankly out the windshield. "... you called?"

I could hear a frown in his voice when he spoke again. "Yes, I did, Mila. Seven times."

"I'm sorry, I was lost in thought."

"It's fine... are you sure you're alright? You're safe right."

I opened my mouth to reply, but shut it when I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach. I shut my eyes, breathing hitching as the tug became stronger; I could feel eyes burning holes at the back of my head.

"Mila? Mila?! Goddammit, Milarayne, answer me!"

I blinked, opening my eyes. "I-I- sorry. Mason, I'm fine. Really. Don't worry."

"I can't _not_ worry about you, Miles."

I smiled a bit at that. "Try, Wolfie."

"Hey."

I chuckled halfheartedly. "Is Bella there?"

"Yeah, you want me to put her on?"

"Please."

"Alright, hang on a second."

I heard a bit of shuffling in the background, along with many other voices; they were probably already at the airport.

"Rae?"

"I'm here."

"Oh, God, are you okay?"

I chuckled. "Relax, Bells, I'm fine, not dead."

"Good, stay that way."

I rolled my eyes, trying hard to ignore the eyes on me. "Danger is kind of inevitable for the both of us, at this point."

"You're right—" She cut herself off, making me frown.

"Bells?" No answer. My frown deepened. "Bella? Are you still there?"

A pause.

"Yeah, sorry. I was kinda glaring at your boyfriend."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why— wait, let me guess... eavesdropping?"

"Yup."

"Huh."

"Yeah... anyway, we gotta go. Stay safe, okay?"

I paused for a moment, before answering. "I'll be fine." I said that because I wasn't safe. I just wasn't, but even so, I somehow knew I'd be fine in the end.

I'll be fine.

"You stay safe too, alright?" I said in a firm voice.

"I'll try."

"Yeah, try, and then try harder," I said, subconsciously nodding. "Don't do anything stupid."

She gave out a weak laugh. "I'll try... and try harder. Take care."

"You too."

"Bye."

"… see ya."

I hung up quickly before she could even think of passing the phone back to Mason. If this finally came down to a goodbye... I just can't bring myself to say so to him. I wouldn't be able to tell him goodbye; I wouldn't be able to say that to anyone.

Just as I was about to turn the engine back on, I yelped, startled, as a faint knock against the window brought me out of my thoughts.

I rolled down the window and blinked, surprised.

"Greetings and salutations."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. "…"

"Lost, stranger?"

"Jason," I breathed out as I stared into the hazel-green eyes of the familiar boy in the trench coat.

I couldn't help but wonder how he was randomly standing right before me. With all the series of unexpected events having occurred in the past couple of hours, I couldn't seem to make sense of anything at this point.

"Am I ever gonna get your name? I mean, 'cause I keep referring to you as the hot new girl in town with silver eyes."

I laughed in spite of myself and my current situation. "Honestly, I'm pretty sure you'd still refer to me as such even after I tell you who I am."

He smirked. "You know what? I actually would."

I chuckled again, this time a little more half-heartedly. "What are you doing here?"

He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "You're parked in front of my house, genius."

I blinked, surprised. "Ah."

"Yeah," he chuckled again, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Would you believe me if I said I randomly parked in front of your house?"

"You know, I actually wouldn't put it past you to do such random things."

I chuckled once more. "I should probably be offended by that, but, honestly, I wouldn't put it past me either."

"So," he said. "Am I gonna get a name, this time?"

I forced a smile and shook my head; I didn't have time for this. "I have to go."

"Ah, nah!" he protested. "Already?"

"Afraid so," I told him as I finally turned the engine back on. "Maybe some other time."

JD smirked and dramatically lifted his hand up and pretended to remove a hat from his head as gentlemen did in the old days.

"I'll hold you to it, M'lady. You know where I live," he said, nodding his head toward the house I was parked in front of. "Come by anytime."

I forced another smile and nodded. "I'll hold you to it," I echoed his words, hoping he wouldn't hear the lie in them; frankly, if I lived to see tomorrow, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't remember at all where he lives. I literally don't even know where Charlie's house is— I just manage to get there by remembering the paths I either walk through or am driven through.

It was about a good thirty minutes before I finally made it to my destination. Part of my mind was stuck on Bella and the mess the Cullens got us into. For the love of Zeus— isn't Alice psychic?!

I may get premonitions every now and again, but they're not as consistent as hers.

And Mason! You'd think he'd insist more and get out of his way to actually stay with me because he _loves_ me so much. And where the hell is that wolf guy? Jason Wolfe? Ha! I'm pretty sure that's not even his actual last name. And what are the odds that I would bump into JD again, out of nowhere? How in… any heaven in existence did I get to his house without even realizing it? Granted, it _was_ totally random; I didn't even know he lived there.

_Ugh!_

Taking a deep, shaky breath, I removed the keys from the ignition, undid my seatbelt and slowly climbed out of the car.

This was going to be a long evening.


	19. Old Foes

Bella, Mason, Alice, and Jasper rented a room in the hotel nearest to the airport, which so happened to be situated on the outskirts of Phoenix.

The Scottsdale hotel.

Bella lay atop a bed, fully clothed. She rose, reorienting herself, and glanced around. Pursing her lips, she slipped off the bed and made her way over to the living room. The blinds were pulled close. Alice and Jasper stared blankly at a TV set while Mason sat on an armchair, staring blankly at his phone, barely blinking. Several plates of food crowded a table.

Alice looked up as Bella entered, looking at her own cell phone.

"I wish, at least, one of them would call," said Bella.

"You should eat," said Alice.

But Bella ignored the food and sat down heavily. "They could get hurt. It's not worth it."

"Yes, it is," Jasper countered. Bella was taken aback; it was the first time he'd engaged into a conversation with her.

"Edward's changed since he found you. And none of us want to look into his eyes for the next hundred years if he loses you." He looked forward again. "We may have not known Milarayne for as long as you've known her, but we can tell that she has changed as well, and would do anything for you... even if it meant giving up her own life. It's worth it."

Suddenly, Alice reeled, and Jasper immediately went to her, Bella following suite with Mason close behind.

"What do you see?" asked Jasper.

Alice said with deep worry, "The tracker. He just changed course..."

Jasper quickly set a pad of paper and pencil in front of her.

"Where will it take him, Alice?" Mason asked.

Alice was confused. All she saw was the disorienting vision of James standing in a room full of...

"Mirrors. It's a room of mirrors," Alice said. She began to draw at hyper speed, closing her eyes, trying to see it clearly.

"How do the visions work?" Bella asked. "Edward said they weren't always certain."

"She sees the course people are on, while they're on it," said Jasper.

"So if they change their minds, the visions change," Mason concluded, getting a nod from Jasper in response.

Bella looked over Alice's shoulder to see the drawing. "So the course James is on now will lead him to... a ballet studio?"

Alice looked up at her. "You've been here?"

Bella shook her head. "No. I don't know. I used to take ballet lessons as a kid. The school had an arch like that."

"Was your school here in Phoenix?" Jasper asked her.

"Yeah, around the corner from my house. But I haven't been there in ten years."

Mason narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you have any reason to go now?" he asked slowly. He had to keep his guard up for any reckless stunt Bella would think of pulling; Mila would have his head if anything happened to her godsister and he hadn't done anything to stop it from happening in the first place... well, not literally, but... yeah.

Bella shook her head again, scrunching her nose in disgust. "No. Hell, no. I hated the place."

Alice, Jasper, and Mason shared a look, trying to figure this out. Suddenly, Bella jumped as her cell phone rang.

She picked it up, saw the caller ID and exhaled in relief before answering. "Edward. Are you alright?"

On the outskirts of Forks, Carlisle drove the Jeep, fast, Emmett in the back, Edward in the passenger seat on his cell phone.

"I'm coming to get you." He inhaled sharply through his nose, hating having to say what he was about to say next. "We lost the tracker. The woman is still in the area. Rosalie and Esme are protecting your father."

Bella felt her heart sink; sure she was happy her father was being kept safe, but what about Milarayne? She wouldn't be able to live with herself if something happened to her best friend and godsister.

" _This is my fault. You warned me, but I didn't think. I just..._ "

"Bella, we're in too deep." Edward sighed. "We can't change how we feel..."

He had been a bit smitten with Mila and a slight bit infatuated, but her warnings, reminders, rejections— it made him realize it was really Bella he loved and not necessarily because she was his singer; he'd only been somewhat attracted toward Milarayne because he didn't feel like a danger around her, and, though, it was now clear to him and his family that she wasn't human, she was close to one. She had blood running through her veins, a beating heart, and, though her scent was slightly different from thus of a human, it was still somewhat humane.

"No... we can't." Bella paused. "When will you get here?"

" _In a couple hours. Then you and I will go somewhere. Together. The others will keep hunting._ " Edward's tone became more determined. " _Bella, I swear to you, I'll do whatever it takes to make you safe again._ "

Bella couldn't help but tear up at that.

Alice was in the lobby with Mason, settling the bill while Jasper was loading the car out front. Bella was gathering her things when, suddenly, her phone rang again. Maybe it was Mila, she hoped. It had been a while since she'd last heard from her. She grabbed the ringing item and furrowed her brows in surprise when the caller ID read "HOME."

Answering, she said, "Mom, I'm so glad you got my—"

She was cut off mid-sentence by her mother's panicked voice. " _Bella? Bella? Where are you?_ "

Bella sighed. "Calm down, Mom. Everything is fine, okay? I'll explain every—" This time, she cut herself off when rustling was heard on the line, as if Renée had dropped her phone. "... Mom? Are you there?"

Then Bella heard a voice that sent a chill down her spine—

" _Nice house you have here. Not the best on the block, but comfortable._ "

Oh, shit...

———————————————————

Climbing out of her boyfriend's car was Milarayne, sucking in a heavy breath and holding it in when she felt a presence blur past her, a cold breeze following right behind it. Inhaling sharply, she took a few steps away from the car and further towards the trees. Again, there was that cold breeze, but this time, it came from behind her. Mila spun around, only to let out a heavy breath through her nose; the door from the driver's side of the car had been opened, when she had clearly closed it.

Gritting her teeth, she turned back toward the trees, her eyes narrowed into a glare. "Stop with your stupid games and just come out already!"

There was a silence, only the sound of birds chirping, a few deers running through the forest, and a waterfall not too far from where she was, but that was all. Only the sound of nature surrounded her, until...

" _Hee-hee_ ," a giggle echoed.

Oh, for Christ's sake! "I'm not joking, dammit, come out!" Mila called out, her own voice echoing as well.

" _But, if I do that, then where would be the fun in it all?_ "

"There's never anything fun when it comes to you," Mila glowered.

There was a dramatic sigh. " _Ugh, you used to be so much more fun when you were younger._ "

"Yeah. That was before you little demons destroyed me to the point where I was put into a mental institution."

" _If you were sent there it was because you were surely crazy._ "

"I was an honest person, and I still am."

" _If you were an honest person, you wouldn't be lying to yourself all the time._ " There was a pause. " _You're like us, Milarayne._ "

Mila's jaw clenched. "I am nothing like you bloodsucking monsters."

There was a silence again, though, this time, not even the birds were audible. About seven seconds passed before Mila found herself flat on her back.

" _There you go lying to yourself again._ "

"Ah!" Mila gasped, as pain rose along her spine.

" _Aww, did I hurt you? Oh, clumsy me._ "

"Clumsy, my ass, you bitch," Mila grunted, stumbling back onto her feet, only to be knocked onto the ground again.

" _Wanna play tag? Great! I'm it!_ " Pause. " _I guess I can be fair and give you a fifteen-second head start, seeing as we both know I'll catch you within less than a second._ "

"Dammit, Ki—"

" _Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen..._ "

Jaw clenched, Mila scrambled onto her feet and began to run through the woods. She would've gone to the car to get away, but she knew she couldn't run forever. She knew that, even though they left her, one day they would come back for her, and not exactly in the happily ever after way.

The fifteen seconds had already long passed when she had reached the edge of a clearing, but there was no sign of her visitor.

Taking a deep breath as she slowed her pace down into a walk along the outskirts of the clearing, Mila narrowed her silver eyes as she cautiously observed her surroundings. She looked up at the sky for a moment and let out a small, tired sigh as she noticed how dark it had gotten. She looked back down, glanced around at the falling leaves and shivered; though it was almost the end of spring, it felt like autumn was here. Eyes shifting toward every inch they could possibly reach visually, she drew in a breath, clutching her jacket closer around her, boots shuffling over dry bracken and cracking the debris from leaves and trees. The light pollution blocked out every star one could possibly see, but that didn't matter to Mila. She shuddered as a cold wind made her upper cheeks flush a startling pink.

She picked up the pace, hugging her arms around herself; her upper chest seemed to stretch the thin, clingy fabric of her shirt. She winced. Her bluish, silver orbs shimmered in the darkness as a scuffle nearby made her ears perk up, making her internally groan; she hated when  _she_  played games like these. She pushed a hand through her light brown hair with a tiny frown and brushed her side bangs away from her eyes.

Her breath getting caught in her throat, she pressed herself against a tree, out of sight from any possible being passing through the clearing, as a loud growl-like whimper pierced the silent night.

She cautiously peeked out from the tree, withdrawing herself back behind it almost instantly when something flung her way. She knew what that big brown furry thing was, and she didn't like being near it, especially now that it was dead.

"You have an odd way of playing tag," she muttered, knowing full well that her visitor could hear her. She was rewarded with another giggle accompanied by a masculine chuckle this time.

" _Oh, you love it when we play that way._ "

Fighting back a gasp, she retorted, "Never did."

" _Oh, c'mon, Miley—_ "

"Don't call me that."

"—  _don't be such an old sport._ "

"You would know all about being old, wouldn't you?" she retorted, clenching her jaw as the rusty, salty stench reached her nose, causing her to cringe.

There was that silence again, though barely a few seconds passed before she was thrown into the clearing, the tree she was hiding behind being ripped from the ground. There were two people apart from her, that much she knew, along with the fact that, this time, they did not bring those strange weapons of theirs as she had felt their cold stone fingers against her skin the many times they threw her around like a rag-doll. No. This time, they used their bare hands, though it didn't make much of a difference as their hands were just as deadly as their gifts and weapons.

She wanted to scream at them. She wanted to tell them to stop, that they had already damaged her enough in the past, but, she knew her words would be but useless clumps in her throat. Wincing and trying to breathe in a way that wouldn't bring her much more pain than she already had, she pushed herself up till she was sitting on the cold, slightly muddy ground and felt her chest tighten and her heart almost stop as two of the seven people she had hoped to never see again stood before her, amusement dancing in their startling tanzanite blue eyes as they stared down at her.

Kira and Keeran, the twins in the Nickolaus family. Though classified fraternal due to their difference in height and gender, they actually looked identical, both having the pale marble skin of a vampire and dark brown hair— if their hair were any darker, or even black, it would've been like seeing Snow White and the twin brother no one ever knew about.

Keeran's lips curled into a mocking smile as he placed a finger over them.

 _Keep your mouth shut, princess_ , she could practically hear him saying, though, even if she wanted, she couldn't find any words as she stared at them wide-eyed, confused. They were vampires, yes. Different than the other... sparkly ones, but vampires all the same. But why did they look like they... changed?

There was no forensic evidence.

No blood. No DNA sample, or medical file to prove that they'd changed.

Mila's gaze darted between the girl and the boy.

The boy stood tall and brawn, his dark, fair hair igniting the strange, tanzanite blue eyes that he had. His skin was moon-kissed; and he had a cherubic face that used to make Mila's breath leave her as if she'd been sucker-punched, though, of course, nothing like  _he_  did to her once, long ago. His features were leonine; majestic, and his eyes were bored as if he had no care in the world. He was a little under a foot taller than Mila, and his build was lean, yet muscular. His shoulders had an arrogant gait to them, and his face was thin yet so angular; angelic. His sister was just a female reflection of himself, though shorter— probably shorter than Mila herself— and thinner. She was the perfect definition of a young woman that would maybe even make Rosalie jealous.

Of course, unlike before, Mila was not going to be naive. If they were here, it was for a reason, and she was going to find out. She was not going to let them hurt anyone else. They had hurt her so much, made people label her crazy— they were the psychotic ones. And if she couldn't hurt them, the least she could do was try hard to stop them from hurting anyone else, even if it meant they would kill her. Pardon—  _try_  to kill her. After, death hasn't taken her the many time she had tried to end herself purposely or unintentionally, so it wouldn't work, right?

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

Kira shrugged, a smirk on her thin yet full lips. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe we just missed you?"

Mila scoffed. "You're one of the most heartless creatures I've ever known."

Keeran's eyes bored into her own, and, for a second, his arrogant stature seemed to falter as something in her eyes caught his attention. Before he could think of anything to say, Mila spoke again.

"Let's make a deal. We have a dual—" Keeran snorted, but Mila ignored him, his sister doing the same as Mila's words had spiked her attention. "If you win, you can do whatever you want with me... or... just, whatever you want; I won't stop you. But, if I win—" This time, both twins snorted, but, again, Mila ignored that. "You leave Forks, or you tell me why you're here... then you leave either way."

A smirk made its way onto Kira's lips as she tilted her head to the side and strutted forward to stand right in front of Mila.

"I must say, Williams, your proposition is rather interesting."

Mila dared herself to smirk, tilting her head to the side, so she was imitation Kira's posture. "So, what do you say, Nickolaus?"

Smirk turning bemused at the young simpleton's mocking stance, Kira leaned forward. "You wanna know what I say?"

"Well, that  _is_  kind of what I asked," Mila smart-mouthed. She had no idea where this sudden confidence was coming from, but she was loving it as it visibly seemed to be worrying the twins.

Leaning even further, so her lips were on Mila's ear, Kira whispered, "Well, I say: Game on," the last two words coming out in an animalistic snarl.

And she was thrown back once again, landing hard on her back. Coughing slightly, Mila rolled onto her stomach and looked at the pair with the deadliest glare she could muster.

"You bet it's on, bitch," she muttered under her breath.

The next thing took all of them by surprise; she found herself on her feet and in front of the dark haired girl, hand curled up. She pulled her fist back and let it snap forward, letting it collide with her nose. It seemed so unreal; she fell. Then she stood again and assumed a similar stance to thus of Mila, who had her legs apart, almost in a crouch, watching her with similarly predatory eyes.

Cautiously, they began circling each other until Kira had had enough, gave out a short cry and launched a furious attack.

It was like a Jackie Chan movie at high speed, fists and feet striking from every angle as Kira pressed her attack, but each and every blow was blocked by effortless speed. Even Keeran was shocked by this; how could a mere human fight back— how can a mere human resist their superhuman strength?

 _Maybe **he**  was right, after all_, he mused silently as he watched the young girl battle his sister.  _Maybe she is special._

Kira’s face was knotted, teeth clenched, as she hurled herself at Mila.

The young seventeen-year-old looked at her with a slight smirk on her face as she wiped the bit of blood that had begun dripping from the side of her mouth and down her jaw. "Good. Adaptation. Improvisation. But your weakness isn’t your technique."

She was mocking her again, and Kira didn't like her. She wasn't going to be made a fool. Jaw clenched, she attacked Mila, but was caught off guard by something she, nor her brother, had ever seen before. Her feet and fists were everywhere, taking Kira apart. For every blow Kira blocked, five more hit their target until—

Kira fell.

For the first time in her  _entire_  life, she had to admit she was starting to feel frightened. She was one of the strongest in her coven, and her coven was one of the strongest there was on earth, apart from  _them_ ; how could a mere mortal bring her down. That shouldn't be happening. Panting, on her hands and knees,  _blood_  spat from her mouth, speckling over the dried-out grass on the ground.

Mila's face was emotionless as she stared down at Kira with silver orbs turned bicolor. "How did I beat you?"

"You— you're a witch."

Mila let out a dry laugh. "Sweetheart, if that were the case you'd be dead by now." She sighed, crossing her arms as she shook her head. "No, my speed and strength have nothing to do with my resistance."

Kira was frustrated, still unable to catch her breath.

"Do you believe that’s air you’re breathing now?"

Kira stood, watching the girl cautiously, nodding slowly.

Mila shook her head, as if disappointed. "Again," she simply said.

Their fists flew with pneumatic speed.

Mila began to press Kira, countering blows while slipping in several stinging slaps.

"Come on, Kiki. What are you waiting for? I thought you've so desperately been wanting to kill me since we met all those years ago."

_Whack!_

Mila cracked Kira again. Kira’s face twisted with rage as the speed of the blows rose like a drum solo. Mila was growing tired by the second, but being her stubborn self, she ignored that and focused on messing with Kira. She decided that as long as she was going to Tartarus, she might as well make the most out of it.

"Come on! Stop trying to hit me and just hit me already," she exclaimed, a smirk on her lips.

_Wham!_

A single blow caught Mila on the side of the head, making her stumble back. Mila rubbed her face, then smiled, throwing a punch at Kira, causing her to tumble onto the ground.

Spitting out blood, Kira looked at her with a glare. "I know what you’re trying to do—"

"Really now? So you know now to always expect the unexpected?"

Suddenly, she was slightly caught off guard herself when she felt a pair of lips pressed against her ear. "Maybe you should take your own words into consideration," said a deep musical said calmly.

And, then, she felt it— his rock strong cold arms encircling around her upper body, squeezing until a loud sickening  _Crack!_  came out of it, an ear-piercing scream dropping straight from her throat and through her chapped lips as she was thrown about again. She hit the floor hard and, by now, her arm didn't feel so good, nor did the rest of the left side of her upper body.

Slightly wobbling, she got up and saw Kira attempting a somewhat uncoordinated lunge at her, but she quickly dove forward, away from her aim. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough to see Keeran approach her from behind as she was soon withing his arms again. He gripped her tighter around the waist, pulling her up as he was much more taller than her, making another loud  _Crack!_  ring through possibly the entire clearing. He tightened his grip slightly, then, before she could even react in pain, his enlarged canines pierced their way through the skin of her neck, his grip tightening even more as he drank until he almost drained her.

Neither twin noticed her fluttering eyes had begun to glow a soft silver blue color as the wind suddenly turned into a strong breeze, only picking up by the second. Suddenly, the twins were sent flying back, both breaking the trees they were thrown into as Mila remained standing where she was, neck bleeding, shoulders slouched and left arm limp at her side as she tried to even her breathing that came out in hard puffs. She was bleeding a lot, but she paid that no mind as her eyes were focused on the twins that had gotten up anew and were staring at her with wide eyes as the wind picked up and swirled dust around her.

"Oh, my God..." Kira muttered, her eyes widening more as fright she had never felt before only grew within her. "Do you think she's...?"

"No doubt," her brother replied under his breath, resuming his battle stance.

He charged forward, aiming to attack Mila, when she suddenly shot her right arm out in his direction, and, from the distance remaining between them, felt the grasp around his neck, then, with a flick of the wrist— he was flung across the clearing.

He growled as he regained his stance and sprinted for her again. To his surprise, a force field was put in between them, and he ran straight into it. Kira watched this closely. How was she doing this? She couldn't possibly be... could she? The supernatural boy shook off his daze and glared, only to receive a blank, glowing stare in return. Jaw clenched, he jumped to his feet and flashed toward her. This time, nothing stopped him, and he felt himself grin internally... that is until he felt it. His eyes instantly slammed shut and his breathing hitched as he hoped what he was thinking just happened didn't really happen. He slowly turned his face down and opened his eyes, his breath getting caught in his throat.

It happened.

Her right hand had pierced its way through his thorax, clutching his heart. Oh, the pain he felt when she gave the pumping organ a slight squeeze. He looked up and into her once silver eyes that were now a strong glowing midnight blue color, with a black hue beginning to surround its pupils. It wasn't only that that had sparked fear for his life. No, it wasn't only the cold, glowing orbs or the fact that her hand could rip his heart out any second now. It was her morphing face. The glowing in her eyes had only intensified, and the sclera of her eyes turned pitch black, dark veins appearing under them. Even her beauty intensified, if that were even possible; she was more beautiful than a human is when turned into a supernatural being, her darkened brown hair taking on a reddish tint.

Leaning forward, she placed her lips on his ear, much like his sister had done to her earlier. "I should kill you. I should rip this out of your chest right now, especially after everything you and your 'family' made me go through— after everything you've all done to me."

"Why don't you?" he found himself whispering, his fright taking over his voice.

She looked at him, glowing blue eyes piercing through his very soul. "Those who fight monsters often end up becoming one themselves. I fought you, but for only one reason: for you to leave me alone." She tilted her head to the side and gave him a small sardonic look as she squeezed the organ she held a bit more. "I really should kill you, but that would only make me what you've made of yourselves," she said, glancing at the female twin for a fraction of a second.

Stealing a sideways glance toward the trees as she felt a familiar presence nearing them, she looked back at the man she had at her mercy and looked him straight in the eyes again, face slowly morphing once more. The sclera in her eyes had gone back to white, the dark veins disappearing, the glowing and blue diminishing and phasing into a grayish hazel color. Her beauty remained the same, her skin color only taking on a lighter tone, the reddish tint in her hair disappearing until it was but a dark brown color.

Slowly, she leaned away and, in one swift move, ripped her hand out, earning a gasp from him as the pain subdued and the hole in his thorax slowly began to heal. His sister instantly flashed to his side, though she felt her own breathing hitch as they both caught faint thumps of paws heading in their direction as well as the scent it carried: a repulsive, wet dog smell.

"I don't care what you came to do here anymore, just leave," Mila said coolly. Kira and her panting brother looked over at her in shock. A small smirk made its way onto Mila's lips. "Why so shocked?"

"You're not gonna kill us... you're letting us leave? Why?" Kira demanded. "Wait, no, let me guess. You think that, after all the horrible things that we've done, it would be possible to be forgiven. Are you sure you were never blond, or are you just plain stupid and naive."

The smirk never faltered. "I'm sure, and as for the prior: I don't  _think_ , I  _know_. Anyone, no matter who or what they are, can get a little redemption; you just have to find the path that leads you to it and give into it." Her smirk widened a tad bit as she tilted her head to the side. "You know... 'follow the yellow brick road.' It'll lead you to Oz," she added with a tiny hint of sarcasm.

"You really think we can be redeemed?" Keeran asked in disbelief. Could this girl really be that naive?

She shrugged, wincing slightly in pain from her left arm. "That's up to you, whether you let yourself be or not. I'm just giving you a choice," she said more urgently. She was going to pass out at any moment now, but she had to get it out there. "Either you leave and follow the stupid Munchkins to Oz, or you stay here, in front of my passed-out self and get killed by the Big Bad Wolf."

It was closer, and they only had a few moments before it reached them.

Jaw clenched, Kira helped her brother up and gave Mila a cool look, which held a hint of respect it never had before. "You won't be seeing the last of us yet, Milarayne."

"I pretty much guessed so," Mila replied coolly, giving them a nod. And with that they were gone, the only sound being the calming wind, the thumping of huge paws and her panting as her mind began to shut down.

She couldn't hear anything anymore. Of course, it was probably because of the hammering in her head. She collapsed onto the ground and laid there limply; her body wasn't responding anymore, and she was now being engulfed by darkness. She didn't fight this time, though. She let it take over her, only slightly acknowledging someone calling out her name before she fell in the deepest pits of the abyss.

As soon as he reached the opening of the trees that lead into a clearing, he phased back into his human form. He then slipped on his jeans, shirt, boots, and jacket, before running to the figure lying in the middle of the clearing.

_God, please tell me it's not..._

As he got closer, her intoxicating scent reached his nostrils, and he let out a long string of curses as he ran toward her.

"Mila?! Mila!"

He was frightened for her life; she looked nothing like the many times he had found her passed out in the woods. No. This time, she was battered and bruised, clothes ripped, and she was bleeding. A lot. He grabbed her face between his large hands and shook her slightly, still calling out her name, not once noticing the change in her features until her eyes fluttered open for a fraction of a second, revealing chocolate brown irises, before fluttering shut, leaving him rather taken aback. What happened to the silver eyes he had come to adore? He was snapped out of his daze when he noticed where the most blood was sipping out of. Her neck.

"Dammit, Mila, what have you gotten yourself into?" he muttered.

He then pulled her into his arms and picked her up, then began running out of the clearing, careful not to hurt her more than she already was as he carried her out of the forest.


	20. "A... a Hunter?"

He was dozing in his chair when he suddenly realized that she was not breathing for quite a long time. Then, a gasp startled him wide awake, a deep exhalation following shortly, seemingly the very last one.

"No, no, no!" He quickly rushed over to the call button and hit it repeatedly.

"Yes?" the speaker on the wall squawked.

"Get someone in here now! She's not breathing!"

"Y-yes! I-I'll get a doctor to come right away."

"Hurry, dammit!"

The doctors thought he had just tried to waste their time as her breathing had resumed its normal rate the moment they entered the room. That is until it suddenly took another wrong turn and her heart started hammering at an indescribable speed. Her time was quickly running out, but they had to take her into another room.

"We have to get her to the surgery room, now!" one of the doctors said.

They tried to get him to leave, but he refused to leave her side. It wasn't, however, until he heard a familiar voice coming from the reception that his struggles died down, and the somewhat panicked look on his face went void of emotion. He looked at the doctors with the coldest look he'd ever given anyone and all but growled at them to keep her alive, to keep her heart beating.

After that was said, he spun on his heels and walked out the door, making way to the reception. Forks' Police Chief Charlie Swan had just come bustling through the doors, his daughter in a wheelchair right behind him, with her boyfriend and her best friend's boyfriend.

"Look, Officer—"

"Chief," Charlie corrected, trying to get past the nurse that was trying to stop him from going any further.

"Chief Swan," said a deep voice.

Charlie stopped arguing with the nurse and receptionist and snapped his head back to look at the person who was calling his name. It was a man, probably in his early twenties. He was tall, around six feet four, with rounded muscles perfectly visible from under his slightly stained t-shirt, and, though he had pale skin, some of his features made it clear he was Native American. His hair was jet-black and cut short in a cropped style that was long enough to be messed with, adorning his somewhat wistful face and complimenting his big piercing hazelnut eyes.

"Yes— who are you?"

"Jason Eberhardt, sir. I'm the person who called you…"

" _You_ found Mila? Where is she?" Charlie demanded.

"This way, sir."

 _Jason Eberhardt?_  Belle frowned as Edward rolled her chair forward, following behind Charlie, Mason, and Jason. She remembered Mila briefly mentioning a Jason sometimes at home when it was just the two of them spending time together, but she had no recollection of him being surnamed Eberhardt. Wasn't it Jason Wolf? But then there was that other one… JD? Ugh! Which one was— wait, this guy doesn't have an oversized trench coat. Huh… must be—

"Wolf," she stupidly blurted out in a mutter, earning herself questioning looks from Edward and Mason.

It was Jason's short glance her way that confirmed her suspicions. He was Jason Wolf. But, then, why was he going by Eberhardt? She shrugged it off, shaking her head as they neared a wide window that displayed a surgery room on the other side. She would worry about the man's name later. She was brought back to the current situation by her father, who asked the question that picked her attention.

"Is she gonna make it?" his voice was trembling with nervousness.

"I don't know," Jason admitted. "I hope so."

Silence settled between them for a moment before Mason broke it. "What happened?" he asked, eyes never leaving his girlfriend's unconscious body.

Jason hesitated for a moment before replying. "I don't know. I was driving, when my car gave out on me. I got out and started to look around to see if I could find a radio tower with a communication console to get help, but then I saw a car not so far ahead. There was no one in it, but there were shoe prints on the ground that led into the forest. I followed it and, surprise, surprise, I found Mila's tortured body on the ground, with her neck practically bleeding out." He wasn't really lying, but he couldn't exactly say aloud that he was wandering about in the forest in his enormous wolf form, with Charlie right there.

"Didn't you have a phone?" Mason asked. "Why were you looking for a communication console if you had one."

"I forgot my phone at home, that's why," Jason replied coolly.

"Then how did you call the Chief?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "There're like ten phone booths on each floor of this hospital," he deadpanned.

Bella sighed. She wanted to laugh. And she knew if Mila were with them at that moment, awake and well, she would've undoubtedly laughed at how silly her boyfriend was being, probably out of jealousy and frustration with himself for not being the one to have saved her. But she wasn't, and that's what kept Bella slightly agitated.

"Would you two stop it already? God, you're like an old married couple— consistently arguing," she grumbled, glaring at them.

Suddenly, a loud beeping noise caught their attention, and the five of them turned to look back at the young girl, glares and hard looks phasing toward shock as they watched her state deteriorate. They all tensed as they watched the doctors rushing on and about the operation room.

"Crash cart coming in," they heard a nurse call out, though her voice was only muffled to the two humans watching by the thick glass window.

"BP is dropping. Defibrillator!"

Bella, Charlie, Jason, Edward, and Mason watched in shock as Milarayne was flatlining.

"Charge to one hundred," the second doctor ordered.

Bella's uninjured hand flew to grasp Edward's cold one. She squeezed it tightly, getting a gentle squeeze in return, bringing her some reassurance, though it was only a tinge; she was completely distraught at what could happen to Mila.

"Rae…" she mumbled.

Edward's heart ached, not only for what he was sure Bella was feeling in that moment, but also for the possibility of losing a friend as good as Mila, even though she didn't see herself as such. Bella was a neutral person, and though Mila was also neutral and that was the main thing that made both girls compatible with each other, Mila was much, _much_ colder, and she was not afraid to show it. When she couldn't find it in herself to be nice, she said so and was what she considered to be herself. She was cold and distant, but she was also very kind-hearted, compassionate and caring towards others when she wanted to be or knew she needed to be.

She was a good person whom he'd been smitten with for a good part of the beginning of their acquaintanceship, but now she was a great friend— a  _best_  friend even. He would be just as distraught as Bella if he lost her.

"Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!" Mila was given a shock with the defibrillator. "Pulse?"

"No pulse."

"Okay. Charge to two hundred, please. Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!" Mila was given another shock. "Pulse?"

"Negative."

Bella gritted her teeth, fighting back her tears. Edward's jaw clenched; he felt as though he had failed both her and Bella. Mason's hands curled into fists, infuriated with himself; why didn't he stay with her? Jason watched with a hard look on his face; he didn't know what to think.

Charlie's breathing hitched as he clutched the hem of his uniform's top. "Don't do this to me, Miles. Don't do this to me."

The five watched the doctors as they continued to revive Milarayne, but Mila was still showing a flat lining. None of them moved.

"What's the time?"

_Time of death, 1:37 A.M._

But then it happened.

The machines went haywire, the lights began flickering, fiery sparks started shooting in all directions from the crazy machines...

Was it a malfunction? Albeit the loss before them, the doctors couldn't help but think that, recalling almost the same thing happening in the room they had previously put her in. Jason, however, knew better than to think of it being as a simple malfunction.

_He bored his hazel eyes into hers. "What are you?" he whispered._

_She looked down at her hands and frowned. "I never knew. Things have happened to me, but I never got the chance to find someone who knows what I am without trying to get me killed even though **I can't die**."_

_You said you can't die, Mila_ , Jason thought, unaware of the bronze haired vampire glancing his way for a moment as he read his thoughts.  _If that's true, then you've gotta be okay. You can't just..._

The five standing on the other side of the window, and the doctors standing around her watched as the heart monitor quit flatlining and took off, racing quickly as it had done a while ago.

Bella was on the edge of her seat watching with wide eyes, along with the others, as Mila began to convulse and vibrate in the bed as though a current of electricity were passing through her body. She also appeared to be clenching her fists. Much to the surprise of witnesses, muffled screaming and choking could be heard coming from the other side of the window.

As the body convulsed and the screaming became louder, the witnesses became anxious.

Suddenly, a drop of fresh blood appeared on her already stained shirt, and then another. Edward and Mason had to hold their breaths as to not be tempted by the sweet, taunting scent. As the blood began to drip from her slightly ripped shirt, her body lurched forward, back arching, as she withered in pain. The doctors had no idea what to do anymore. It was over a minute, and her yells could still be heard.

More invisible currents seemed to be passing through her body, each too weak to produce quick and fatal damage anymore. The groans stopped abruptly. Mila’s convulsing body still vibrated in the bed. Moments later, a sizzling sound could be heard, followed by a deadly silence. Not even the heart monitor was beeping, but it wasn't flatlining either.

Mila was no longer moving. She was no longer breathing. Her heart was no longer beating.

Suddenly, her body lurched forward and, for the first time since the clearing, her eyes snapped open as she blindly reached out, gasping for air. The doctors quickly reacted, rushing about; one of them quickly grabbed an oxygen mask and gently put it in place, over her mouth and nose.

"Milarayne Williams?" one of them asked as they gently pushed her back down on her back. "Milarayne, can you hear me?"

She shifted her fluttering eyes to the side, giving out a tired hum in acknowledgment as she tiredly tried to even out her ragged breathing.

 _Yes, I can hear you... I'm alive..._  she wanted to say, but she couldn't get any words out.

"Wh-whe..." she tried, but the words got stuck in her throat.

"Sshh," another doctor hushed. "Stay calm, we're gonna fix you up, alright?"

"Wh-wh..." she tried again, but only a pained moan came out.

"You're in Forks' hospital, Mila. Don't worry, you're in good hands," said a familiarly appealing voice, "You can rest now, you'll be fine."

_I was alive... I was alive again._

She gave him the most grateful look she could muster. "Tha... you... Carl..."

 _Thank you, Carlisle..._  she thought before letting herself fall back into the deep pits of the abyss.

After what seemed like an eternity, her eyes slowly fluttered open, squinting slightly as a bright, white light hit her face. She was in an unfamiliar room, a white room. The wall beside her was covered in long, obese vertical blinds; over her head, the glaring lights blinded her. She was propped up on a hard bed with rails. The pillows were flat and lumpy.

There was an annoying beeping sound somewhere close by. The last thing she remembered— she was dead. And, right now, she hoped that whatever she was feeling meant she was still alive. Death shouldn't be this uncomfortable. Her big doe eyes shifted throughout her surroundings and narrowed as she clenched her jaw.

Trying to sit up, she let out a pained groan and let herself slump back onto the bed.

She closed her eyes and moaned in pain. "Oh, my g... am I in hell?" she mumbled, though her voice came out muffled. Confused, she tiredly reached a hand upward and found she had an oxygen mask covering her mouth and nose. She was about to pull it off, but a hand stopped her.

"I suggest you don't do that," said a slightly Australian accented deep voice. "They had to refill the tank about four times each six hours because you were runnin' outta air."

She looked up, repeatedly blinking so her surroundings came more into focus, and grew more confused. "Fred? Wha-what are you doing here?" she asked innocently, her voice, though muffled, raspy for not being used in a long time. "Wait... where is—"

"Shh, don't strain yourself. You're safe now. You're in Forks hospital."

She groggily skimmed her eyes around the room and saw 'get well' cards and a photo montage of her friends from Forks on a table. She then noticed, not so far from the table, two familiar figures, fast asleep, on two chairs on the other side of the room, far apart from each other.

"Who..."

"Your boyfriend and Jason."

Mila frowned. She understood her boyfriend being there, but Jason? Sure, they were considerably friends, but they weren't so close.

Noticing her confused frowned, Fred added, "He found you and brought you here. Both haven't left your side since you've been in."

"Are... Charlie... and Bella..."

"They're down in the cafeteria along with this guy called Ed... Edwin?"

A small smile cracked upon Mila's chapped lips. "I... call him... Bronzy."

Fred chuckled, shaking his head. "How are you feeling?"

Mila was silent for a moment, her eyes fluttering as she tried to shrug the tiredness away. "Dead."

That made her step-father frown. He looked down at his hands, which interlinked, then looked back up at her. "You were."

"I know..." she whispered. She closed her eyes and let out a small sigh through her nose before opening her eyes anew and looking at him. "What... happened?"

He gave her a stern look. "I don't know, you tell me. Jason said he found you in the forest, practically  _tortured_  to death, Mila. So, tell me, what  _really_  happened?"

Milarayne was drawing a blank, confused. A moment passed, but the earlier events were still blurry. "Honestly?" He nodded. "I have... no clue. I'm trying... to remember... but my mind... it just... keeps coming up blank. And my head... it's starting... to hurt…"

Fred sighed. "Rest, then. Alright? If you remember anything, I want you to tell  _me_ , am I clear?"

"Yeah," Mila replied in a small voice. Fred got up, making his way to the door, but was soon stopped by Mila who was calling him back. "Is... is my mom..."

He looked back at her with sad eyes. "Mila..." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I tried, I really did, but she won't think outside the box— she doesn't want to believe..."

Mila frowned. "... believe?"

He walked back and took the seat before her once more. "Mila, it took me so long to figure it out, and I'm sorry you had to endure your mother going as far as putting you in a mental institution, but—"

"Fred, what... are you... talking about?" she asked. The confusion was only making her head hurt even more.

He took a deep breath before looking into her eyes. "I know what the Nickolaus family is. What the Cullens are. What your boyfriend and Jason are— Mila, I know what you are."

Mila instantly sat up at his words, her pain going to the far back of her mind. "You know." Her voice was almost as dead as she looked.

"Mila, I'm—"

"You  _knew_."

"Mila—"

"How long?"

Fred frowned, thinking. "A while, but I wasn't sure until now— Mila your injuries..... the tattoo—"

"Whoa, whoa...  _what..._  tattoo? I don't... have... any of those... wait, what's... a tattoo?"

"It's a—"

"I mean— never mind...  _what_  am I?"

"Mila, you're a Pressor."

She blinked, eyes never leaving him. She looked at him as though he were speaking gibberish. "You say that so simply like I'll understand what it means."

Fred sighed. "You're a Hunter."

"A... a  _Hunter_?"

"A Hunter of the supernatural, to be more exact."

"… a _Hunter_?"

He sighed again. "Yes, Mila, a Hunter."

"Pardon my skepticism," she retorted sarcastically, "but I'm pretty sure Buffy didn't have superpowers, or creepy little demons roaming around in my peripheral vision, taunting me and trying to get me to kill nearly everything in sight; and by 'everything,' I mean even a toaster."

"Okay, that show, book— whatever the hell that is, has to get its facts straight, 'cause you are not some pathetic self-employed vampire slayer!"

She swallowed hard, timidly sinking deeper under my bedsheets upon being on the receiving end of his unexpected offended outburst.

"Sorry," he mumbled, awkwardly clearing his throat before proceeding with a more elaborate answer. "The type of hunter you are is a human of Wiccan descent, withholding powers specifically for destroying supernatural creatures, in order to keep nature balanced. I'm moving into Forks, so I can train you, so you don't become what the Nickolauses are."

"And that is?"

"No one knows the exact term, but we call them Sidetrackers. They're the evil version of a Hunter, I guess we can say. They used to be Hunters, but they got addicted to the power they had, and that turned them into bloodsucking monsters with powers."

She looked at him, eyes wide in disbelief. "And I can become that?!"

"Unless you have someone to keep you on the right track, you won't."

"But I _can_."

"Do you want to?"

"No!"

"Then let me train you."

Mila sighed. "Fine, but— wait... you said... you were going to move... into Forks?" He nodded. "What about Claire?"

Fred frowned. "We're… erm… we're taking a… a break; she'll stay in Chicago."

She gave him a weird look. "A break? You don't… you don't take a break, you're married— you either... stay together or get a divorce, only uncommitted couples can take breaks, Fred." He gave her a glare to which she merely rolled her eyes. "So, she's staying... what about... the others? Wait... never mind... Sheryl and Kevin are old enough to take care of themselves."

"Lilly and Andrew are coming with me—"

"What?! No! Fred, it's too danger—"

"Not if they're with me."

"Yeah, and how exactly are you going to protect them when a bloodsucker or a Sidetracker comes raging in through your front door?"

"With my powers, of course."

"What— powers?!"

"And I suggest you calm down—"

"What powers? You never said anything about you having powers—"

"— because the heart monitor is going haywire."

"—when you were trying to win Sheryl, Kevin and I over before you married Claire—"

"And don't call her Claire, she's your mother—"

"Who sent me to a mental institution when she thought I was crazy when all along I was some stupid Hunter being chased by a Sidetrackers!" she shouted, her voice gone clear now. "And you never said _anything_ about having powers, so spill before I destroy your parade like you did mine with your rain of confusing admissions."

Fred sighed, running a hand through his hair. Just as he was about to explain more though, the door opened, and Bella entered in a wheelchair that was being rolled by Edward, Mason, and Jason following right behind, the two latter males seeming to be having a glaring competition.

"What the heck happened to _you_?" Mila asked as soon as the door was closed.

"I-um— I fell down two flights of stairs and through—"

"Bella, don't try that on me, you and I both know I can read you like the palm of my hand. What  _really_  happened?" Bella eyes Fred nervously, and Mila instantly caught on and sighed. "It's fine, he knows about this stuff."

Then Bella told her everything; how most of the Cullen family tried to trick James, while Bella left with Alice and Jasper, though the nomadic vampire saw through them and managed to track Bella to Phoenix; how he lured her into a trap by falsely claiming he was holding her mother hostage. How he broke her ankle before biting her wrist, infecting her with vampire venom; and how Edward managed to save her in the end, while Alice, Emmett, and Jasper destroyed James.

"He must've really gotten you good," Mila murmured, softly tracing the teeth marks on Bella's wrist; the scar felt cold under her fingertips. The young Hunter looked up at her godsister and gave her a soft, halfhearted smile, fighting back a yawn.

"You should rest," said Bella. "You look like you've been through way more than me."

Mila frowned, shaking her head. "I'm fine, I've slept enough," she said, a slight pout on her lips.

"Rae, please?" Bella asked softly.

Mila looked at her for a long moment, before giving in, sighing. "Fine, I guess one little nap won't hurt," she mumbled before instantaneously succumbing to her exhaustion.

Fred chuckled. "Well, she was _definitely_ out of it."


	21. Epilogue: Dawn to my Twilight

I was dying; I remember that much clearly. Then I woke up, only to find out I was a Hunter. A supernatural hunter. I've got to admit, though I was relieved to finally know what I was, I was still pretty angry about it too; I never wanted to be a Hunter— I never wanted anything to do with anything out of the ordinary.

Yet here I am, living with a girl who has a mind-reading, sparkly vampire for a boyfriend while I, myself, am dating a hybrid and have a shifter as a close friend… and am acquainted with a strange boy who always seems to be wearing the same trench coat and may just be a Hunter like me.

I didn't like the idea of being a 'danger' magnet, even less of knowing that I now have to look for danger and balance it out myself as a Hunter. However, considering the fact that I actually looked  _normal_ now... well, I guess you can say I decided to overlook it. Can you blame me for liking to look normal, even though I wasn't?

I didn't look like an outcast anymore, and, unlike before, I wasn't afraid or disturbed by my reflection in the mirror as I brushed through my slightly tangled hair. Yes, maybe I still looked a tad bit sallow and unhealthy, but that was understandable, especially after my fight against the Nickolaus twins. My skin was no longer translucent-looking— my reflection was no longer pallid. Even though I lived in a practically lifeless town, I had color now, and it radiated in a way it never had before. My dermis had taken on a smooth Caucasian tone, and it looked normal. I liked it.

I never related well to people my age, and I probably never will, but I was fine with that. I had Bella and Charlie, Fred and my younger siblings, Riley, Mason, Jason— JD too, I guess— the Cullens...

I didn't relate well to people, but I related well to them.

I could see that now. The glitch in my brain... I was learning to control it.

"Mila, are you done?" I heard Bella ask from the other side of my closed door.

I put my hairbrush down as I continued to study myself in the mirror and, for the first time in a long time, I showed a bit of emotion... I smiled at myself. I just couldn't help it as I stared into my now brown eyes.

"Mila?"

I looked back at the door and sighed. I really wasn't up for going out tonight, but I promised Bella I would accompany her to wherever Edward was planning on taking her, and Mason was coming along.

"I haven't changed yet."

"Can I still come in?"

"Yeah, just watch your step. Don't want you to break your cast by tripping," I added in a mutter.

"I may not be a vampire or whatever, but I heard that," Bella said as she entered my room. I rolled my eyes and turned to her, tilting my head as she stopped and stared at me. "It's gonna take some real getting used to that."

I knew she was talking about getting used to my new look. I couldn't blame her; though I liked this new look, I still hadn't gotten used to it either.

I gave her a halfhearted smile. "I know. I'm still not used to it either," I admitted. "Did you need something?"

"Oh, yeah. Can you help me get into this thing? I haven't worn one in a long time, so... yeah," Bella said with a faint blush on her cheeks, holding out a blue dress Alice had given her.

I chuckled. "Only if you help me with mine," I said, nodding to the red one I'd gotten from the pixie-looking Cullen.

Once we were both done, Edward came to pick up Bella, and bid me a 'see you in a while' before leaving with her, while I stayed behind, waiting for Mason. Luckily, I didn't have to wait too long; he came barely three minutes after Bella and Edward had left.

To say I wasn't twitchy and rather uneasy would be an understatement. I was completely and utterly nervous, and I could tell by his soft chuckle that it was rather clear as I leaned backward on the passenger seat of his car in anticipation, practically squeezing my faintly bruised hands as I gripped the leather material tightly.

"Stop it," he said softly. "Squeeze any harder, and your hands'll be bleeding again."

I scoffed, offended. "It's been a week since it happened," I pointed out.

"But barely a day since you've left the hospital," he replied. "Are you sure they said you could take off your bandages?"

Okay, they didn't exactly say I could, but they were uncomfortable.

"Yes," I said, mentally cursing myself as my voice rose a bit.

"Mila."

"Uh-huh?"

"You made a deal with the pixie."

I sighed, then shrugged nonchalantly. "She wanted to doll me up, I didn't want to, but the bandages were really uncomfortable— I could barely hold a spoon with 'em on."

"She put makeup on your hands?"

"Well, it's more like cream... foundation... I have no idea what it was," I finally admitted. " _But_ , it's worked wonders so far. You can barely notice a bruise or cut on me. Plus, it's miraculously stopped the itches. Ironic, ain't it? I wear makeup sometimes, but I'm no expert, and yet I'm pretty sure it's supposed to do just the opposite."

Mason chuckled softly, and, soon, I felt the car begin to slow down. I listened, trying to even my breath as I heard him turn off the engine, and get out of the car, shutting his door behind him. I guess he used his supernatural speed because, within less than a second, my door was open and he was helping me out of his car, being very careful of the wisps of silk and chiffon, the flowers he'd just pinned into my elaborately styled curls, and my still fragile-looking figure. He ignored the angry set of my mouth.

When he had me onto my feet, I felt my breathing hitch as I felt his hands go to my face, then my shoulders, then my arms, and, finally, my waist, as though to make sure I hadn't gotten any more damaged when he wasn't paying attention.

"I'm fine," I huffed, batting his hands away. "But when exactly are you going to tell me what's going on?"

If there was one thing Bella and I hated the most, it was surprises. And he and Edward knew that.

"I'm shocked that you haven't figured it out yet."

"Have you forgotten you've blindfolded me?" I asked flatly.

He chuckled. "No, I haven't," he said softly.

I felt his hands reach the blindfold and untie it, though before it was off, his lips pressed softly against my own, embracing mine in a gentle, passionate kiss. I kissed him back, letting my lips move with his for a few more seconds before finally pulling away.

"You still haven't answered my previous question," I pointed out.

He chuckled. "I thought you would've read my mind, by now, to find out."

"No," I said sternly. "I told you already, I won't be doing that, especially not now that I can control more of the whole mind-reading thing. It doesn't matter that you're my boyfriend— I would be invading your privacy, and that's not right."

He was silent for a moment, probably staring at me, before he finally answered. "You never cease to surprise me," he said. "And that's rather funny, coming from a girl who hates surprises."

I rolled my eyes from under the loose blindfold. "Can you take this thing off now?"

Before I could get an answer, however, his phone rang. A faint shuffle was heard as, I guess, he pulled his cell phone from a pocket inside his jacket, before he answered.

"Hello, Charlie," he said warily.

What on earth...? "Charlie?" I frowned.

Charlie had been... difficult since I left the hospital, but apparently, he'd been worse when Bella returned to Forks. He had compartmentalized our bad experience into two defined reactions. Toward Carlisle and Jason, he was almost worshipfully grateful. On the other hand, he was stubbornly convinced that Edward was at fault for Bella's mishap— because, if not for him, she wouldn't have left home in the first place— and Mason for leaving me alone to do whatever the hell is was that I did in the woods, which, in result, got me to actually die before being, somehow, revived and nursed back to health.

And both supernatural idiots were far from disagreeing with him.

These days we had rules that hadn't existed before: curfews... visiting hours. I honestly didn't really care. I had friends now, but it wasn't like I would sneak out of the house to go see them; Bella would always come before them. Even when I did sneak out... well, I was never really sneaking out— Mason just happened to flash into my room and practically kidnap me for a date in the woods, which was kind of stupid because it was cold outside, especially at night, but he always made it perfect— a picnic in the woods, candles around, he would tell me about many wonders he'd discovered in over the years he'd lived. He was fascinating, and being with him made me feel different. I still can't quite place the feeling, but it's a good feeling… despite how overly cautious I've been about the whole ordeal. At this point, I didn't care anymore whether what he did was stupid or not; he made me smile, and though sometimes I felt as though I had to force it out, it felt good just being around him.

I pursed my lips as I waited to hear him speak in the musical voice I had come to adore. A few moments passed before I jumped slightly, startled by his deep, yet twinkling musical laugh.

"You're kidding!"

"What is it?" I demanded.

He ignored me. "Why don't you let me talk to him?" he suggested with evident pleasure. He waited for a few seconds.

"Hello, Tyler, this is Mason Di Angelis." His voice was very friendly, on the surface. I knew it well enough to catch the soft edge of menace. What was Tyler doing at Charlie's house? Well... my house... would it be okay to consider it mine since I live there t— wait a minute...

Makeup? Check. Fancy dress? Check. Heels hard to walk on? Check. The flower thingy I've seen guys buy girls to put on when they go to—

Oh. My. Gods.

"I'm sorry if there's been some kind of miscommunication, but Mila is unavailable tonight." Mason's tone changed, and the threat in his voice was suddenly much more evident as he continued. "To be perfectly honest, she'll be unavailable every night, as far as anyone besides myself is concerned. No offense. And I'm sorry about your evening." He didn't sound sorry at all. And then he snapped the phone shut, and I could easily imagine the huge smirk making its way onto his face.

I could feel my face and neck flush crimson with anger.

"Was that last part a bit too much? I didn't mean to offend you." Is he seriously that blind and surprised by my reaction?!

I ignored that. "You're taking me to the _fuckin'_   _prom_!" I yelled, ripping the blindfold from my eyes.

It was embarrassingly obvious now. But I'd never dreamed he, nor Edward were thinking of subjecting Bella and I to this. Didn't they know us at all?

He wasn't expecting the force of my reaction, that was clear. He pressed his lips together, and his eyes narrowed.

"You two are so difficult," someone said quietly.

I turned, my eyes narrowing into a glare as I saw Edward approaching us, Bella limping slightly at his side. She, too, looked to be as furious as I was as she shifted her glare between my boyfriend and her own.

"Why are you doing this to us?" I demanded in horror.

Edward gestured to his and Mason's tuxedos. "Honestly, what did you think we were doing?"

"I don't know... going to someone's funeral?!" I huffed. "That would be much better than going to prom... well, not for the dead person, but still!"

However, the next thing that happened to me, along with both boys, by surprise; Bella burst into tears.

"This is completely ridiculous. Why are you crying?" Edward demanded in frustration.

"Because I'm mad!"

I looked at her in disbelief. "Bella, you've been furious before, but you have never cried when so. What gives?"

"Bella." Edward turned the full force of his scorching golden eyes on her.

"What?" she muttered, distracted.

"Humor me," he insisted.

Mason and I shared a look, before turning to look back at my god sister.

"Fine," she pouted. "I'll go quietly. But you'll see. I'm way overdue for more bad luck. I'll probably break my other leg. Look at this shoe! It's a death trap!" She held out her good leg as evidence.

"Hmmm." He stared at her leg longer than was necessary. "Remind me to thank Alice for that tonight."

"Alice is going to be there?" That comforted me slightly.

"With Jasper, and Emmett... and Rosalie," he admitted.

"Is Charlie in on this?" I asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Of course." He grinned and then chuckled. "Along with Frederick."

"Fred's in on this too?!" I growled. "What in Hades is wrong with this world?!"

Mason chuckled. "Apparently Tyler wasn't, though." That got a laugh out of Edward and even Bella, who was now wiping away her tears.

I gritted my teeth, glaring at him. How Tyler could be so delusional, I couldn't imagine. At school, where Charlie nor Fred couldn't interfere, Mason and I were as inseparable as Edward and Bella had become— except for those rare sunny days.

I looked around and scowled when I remembered we were at the school; Rosalie's red convertible was conspicuous in the parking lot. The clouds were thin today, a few streaks of sunlight escaping through far away in the west.

Mason turned to face me fully once again and held out his hand. I stood there stubbornly my back pressing against the now closed door of his car, arms folded, feeling a secret twinge of smugness; I might not know every magical thing I was capable of doing as a Hunter, but I knew now that I could do a  _lot_  of things, including many painful ones if I was forced into doing something I didn't like. So, yeah, he was my boyfriend, but I was not about to make an exception. And he knew that.

Plus, the lot was crowded with people in formal dress: witnesses. He couldn't force me to do anything without causing a scene that would only reveal the existence of the supernatural.

He sighed. "Mila..."

"Nope," I replied stubbornly, though I got slightly distracted by Edward's sudden disbelieving chuckle.

"When someone wants to kill you both, you're brave as lions— and then when someone mentions dancing..." He shook his head.

I gulped, sharing a look with Bella, who looked just as terrified at the idea. Dancing. Gods, help us.

Mason stepped closer to me, grabbing my face between his hands. "Mila, I won't let anything hurt you— not even yourself. I won't let go of you once, I promise."

I thought about that and suddenly felt slightly better. He could see that in my face.

"There, now," he said gently, "it won't be so bad." He leaned down and wrapped one arm around my waist. I took his other hand and let him lead me away from the car, Edward and Bella flanking right behind us as we made our way toward the school

When I was... 'locked up,' and Fred would come and visit me with my younger siblings, we would often watch movies of typical teenagers. That's basically how I grew up— watching proms being held in hotel ballrooms through the small TV screen I was only allowed to turn on when I had my visitors. This dance was in the gym, of course. It was probably the only room in town big enough for a dance.

When we got inside, I giggled, shocking the daylights out of myself. There were actual balloon arches and twisted garlands of pastel crepe paper festooning the walls.

"This looks like a horror movie waiting to happen," I snickered, Bella laughing with me.

"Well," Edward muttered as the four of us slowly approached the ticket table, "there are more than enough vampires present."

I looked at the dance floor; a wide gap had formed in the center of the floor, where two couples whirled gracefully. The other dancers pressed to the sides of the room to give them space— no one wanted to stand in contrast with such radiance.

Emmett and Jasper were intimidating and flawless in classic tuxedos. Alice was striking in a black satin dress with geometric cut-outs that barred large triangles of her snowy white skin. And Rosalie was... well, Rosalie. She was beyond belief. Her vivid scarlet dress was backless, tight to her calves where it flared into a wide ruffled train, with a neckline that plunged to her waist. I pitied every girl in the room, Bella and myself included.

"Do you want me to bolt the doors, so you can massacre the unsuspecting townsfolk?" I heard Bella whisper conspiratorially.

"I'll help," I chimed in, loud enough for the three of them to hear since the music was rather loud and was already giving me a migraine.

"And where do you two fit into that scheme?" Mason asked, glaring slightly at us.

"Oh, we're with the hybrid and the vampires, of course," Bella replied.

Both boys smiled reluctantly. "Anything to get out of dancing."

Bella and I shared a look and simultaneously shrugged before replying in unison, "Anything."

Edward bought his and Bella's tickets, and then Mason bought ours, before turning me toward the dance floor. I cringed against his arm and dragged my feet.

"I've got all night," he warned.

"I'll pass out."

"No, you won't."

"I'll knock myself out," I corrected myself.

"I'll stop you before you try."

I growled softly under my breath, irritated. Stupid… massive pain in the ass…

And he towed me out to where the Cullen's were twirling elegantly— as if in a style totally unsuitable to the present time and music. I watched in horror.

"Mason." My throat was so dry I could only manage a whisper. "I honestly can't dance!" I could feel the panic bubbling up inside my chest. "I was in a... I was never taught! And have you not noticed who I live with?! I've caught the illness."

"What illness?"

"You know... the one where you trip over anything...?"

He rolled his eyes at me and smiled. "That's called clumsiness, and, if anything, you're probably the most grounded person in that house."

I huffed, then slightly cringed when I noticed the small glare Bella sent my way as she too was forced into the dance floor; I'm guessing Edward told her that I had basically just insulted her and her clumsiness indirectly.

"Mason," I complained, as he pulled me closer.

"Don't worry, silly," he whispered back. "I can dance." He put my arms around his neck and lifted me to slide his feet under mine. "Either way, we both know you're a fast learner."

And then we were whirling, too.

"I feel like I'm five years old," I laughed after a few minutes of effortless waltzing.

"You don't look five," he murmured, pulling me closer for a second so that my feet were briefly a foot from the ground.

Alice caught my eye on a turn and smiled in encouragement— I smiled back. I was surprised to realize that I was actually enjoying myself... a little.

"Okay, this isn't half bad," I admitted.

But Mason was staring toward the doors, and his face was angry. I was about glance toward the doors too, but then froze, frowning slightly when I noticed that Edward and Bella were both gone.

"What is it?" I wondered aloud.

I followed his gaze, disoriented by the spinning, but finally, I could see what was bothering him as Edward and Bella made their way back in. Jacob Black, not in a tux, but in a long-sleeved white shirt and tie, his hair smoothed back into his usual ponytail, was crossing the floor toward us.

After the first shock of recognition, I couldn't help but feel bad for Jacob. He was clearly uncomfortable— excruciatingly so. His face was apologetic as his eyes met mine. Mason snarled very quietly.

"Behave!" I hissed.

Mason's voice was scathing. "He wants to chat with you."

"How do you even know that?"

"Edward," was his only answer.

Jacob reached us then, the embarrassment and apology even more evident on his face.

"Hey, Mila?" It was clear he was as shocked as everyone else about my new look, though he visibly seemed to relax when my lips did their usual twitch in an attempt to smile as I nodded. "I was hoping you would be here." Jacob sounded like he'd been hoping the exact opposite. But his smile was just as warm as ever.

"Hi, Jacob." I finally smiled back, and I was genuinely surprised when my reaction came naturally and not forced as it usually did. "What's up?"

"Can I cut in?" he asked tentatively, glancing at Mason for the first time. I was shocked to notice that Jacob didn't have to look up. He must have grown half a foot since the first time I'd seen him.

Mason's face was composed, his expression blank. His only answer was to set me carefully on my feet and take a step back.

"Thanks," Jacob said amiably.

Mason just nodded, looking at me intently before he turned to walk away.

Jacob put his hands on my waist, and I reached up to put my hands on his shoulders.

"Wow, Jake— can I call you Jake?" He chuckled and nodded, as I chuckled along with him. "How tall are you now?"

He was smug. "Six-two."

We weren't really dancing— my leg wasn't in a cast like Bella's, but my exhaustion practically made dancing as impossible. Instead, we swayed— surprisingly not awkwardly— from side to side without moving our feet. It was just as well; the recent growth spurt had left him looking gangly and uncoordinated, he was probably no better a dancer than I was.

"So, how did you end up here tonight?" I asked without true curiosity. Considering Mason's reaction, and the cold look on Edward's face I could catch, I could only guess.

"Can you believe my dad paid me forty bucks to come to your prom?" he admitted, slightly ashamed.

"Yes, I can," I muttered. "Well, I hope you're enjoying yourself, at least. Seen anything you like?" I teased, nodding toward a group of girls lined up against the wall like pastel confections.

"Yeah," he sighed. "But she's taken." He glanced down to meet my curious gaze for just a second— then we both looked away, embarrassed. "You look really pretty, by the way," he added shyly.

I smiled slightly, uncertain of why he was suddenly acting shy. It was just me after all— previously-freakish-looking-now-slightly-normal-looking Mila.

"Um, thanks. So why did Billy pay you to come here?" I asked quickly, though I knew the answer.

Jacob didn't seem grateful for the subject change; he looked away, uncomfortable again. "He said it was a 'safe' place to talk to you and Bella. I swear the old man is losing his mind." I joined in his laughter weakly. "Anyway, he said that if I told you two something, he would get me that master cylinder I need," he confessed with a sheepish grin.

"Did you tell Bella already?" He nodded. "Well, now you're here with me, so... tell me. I want you to get your car finished." I grinned back.

At least Jacob didn't believe any of this yet. It made the situation a bit easier. Against the wall, Mason was watching my face, his own face expressionless. I saw a sophomore in a pink dress eyeing him with timid speculation, but he didn't seem to be aware of her.

Jacob looked away again, ashamed. "Don't get mad, okay?"

"There's no way I'll be mad at you, Jacob," I assured him, and some part of me was actually surprised at how true that was. "I won't even be mad at Billy. Just say what you have to."

"Well— this is so stupid, I'm sorry, Mila— he wants you and Bella to break up with your boyfriends. He asked me to tell you 'please.'" He shook his head in disgust.

"He's still superstitious, huh?"

"Yeah. He was... kind of over the top when Bella got hurt down in Phoenix, and you in the woods. He didn't believe..."Jacob trailed off self-consciously.

My eyes narrowed. "Bella fell. I... have no idea what attacked me."

"I know that," Jacob said quickly.

"He thinks Edward had something to do with Bella getting hurt." It wasn't a question, and despite my promise, I was angry now. "He thinks Mason has something to do with what happened to me."

Jacob wouldn't meet my eyes. We weren't even bothering to sway to the music, though his hands were still on my waist, and mine around his neck.

"Look, Jacob, I know Billy probably won't believe this, but just so you know—" He looked at me now, responding to the new earnestness in my voice. "— Edward really did save Bella's life." _And he has my respect, now, for doing just that instead of draining her to death…_ "If it weren't for him and his father, she'd be dead. As for what happened to me—" My voice broke a little as blurry images from that night made their way back into my head. "— Mason wasn't even there; he didn't even know about it until Charlie was called into the hospital for me. And if it weren't for Edward's father and his team of doctors... I would probably be dead too."

"I know," he claimed, but he sounded like my sincere words had affected him some. Maybe he'd be able to convince Billy of this much, at least.

"Hey, I'm sorry you had to come do this, Jacob," I apologized. "At any rate, you get your parts, right?"

"Yeah," he muttered. He was still looking awkward... upset. Gods, now I just felt bad.

"There's more?" I asked in disbelief.

"Forget it," he mumbled, "I'll get a job and save the money myself."

I glared at him until he met my gaze. "Just spit it out, Jacob."

"It's so bad."

"I don't care. Tell me," I insisted.

"Okay… but, geez, this sounds bad." He shook his head. "He said to tell you, no, to warn you, that— and this is his plural, not mine," he lifted one hand from my waist and made little quotations marks in the air. "'We'll be watching.'" He watched warily for my reaction.

It sounded like something from a mafia movie. I laughed out loud. "Sorry you had to do this, Jake," I snickered.

"I don't mind  _that_  much." He grinned in relief. His eyes were appraising as they raked quickly over my dress. "So, should I tell him you said to butt the hell out?" he asked hopefully.

"No," I sighed. "Tell him I said thanks. I know he means well," I added softly.

The song ended, and, reluctantly, I dropped my arms.

His hands hesitated at my waist, and he looked me over, probably realizing how exhausted I really was. "Do you want to dance again? Or can I help you get somewhere?"

Mason answered for me. "That's all right, Jacob. I'll take it from here."

Jacob flinched and stared wide-eyed at Mason, who stood just beside us.

"Hey, I didn't see you there," he mumbled. "I guess I'll see you around, Mila." He stepped back, waving halfheartedly.

I smiled, for some reason, unable to take my eyes away from him as I felt this strange shift within me. "Yeah… erm… I-I'll see you later."

"Sorry," he said again before he turned for the door.

Mason's arms wound around me as the next song started, and I was snapped out of my trance. I blinked a couple times, trying to readjust myself to my surroundings as Mason began to sway us from side to side; the new song was a little up-tempo for slow dancing, but that didn't seem to concern him. Closing my eyes as though that would drown out the whispers and hisses in my head, I leaned my head against his chest and sighed.

Feeling the need to cut the tension floating in the air, I playfully pocked the back of his neck with my pinky. "Feeling better?" I teased.

"Not really," he said tersely.

"Don't be mad at Billy," I said softly. "He just worries about me for Charlie's sake. It's nothing personal."

"I'm not mad at Billy," he corrected in a clipped voice. "But his son is irritating me."

I pulled back to look at him. His face was very serious.

"Why?" I demanded, my eyes narrowing slightly as I scrutinized him.

"First of all, he made me break my promise." I stared at him in confusion. He half-smiled. "I promised I wouldn't let go of you tonight," he explained.

"Oh." My tone was somewhat flat and deadpanned. "Well, I forgive you."

"Thanks. But there's something else." Mason frowned.

I waited.

"He called you pretty," he finally continued, his frown deepening. I raised a brow at him; "that's practically an insult, the way you look right now. You're much more than beautiful."

I rolled my eyes. "You might be a little biased."

"I don't think that's it. Besides, I have excellent eyesight."

We were twirling again, my feet on his as he held me close.

"So, are you going to explain the reason for all of this?" I wondered.

He looked down at me, confused, and I glared meaningfully at the crepe paper.

He considered for a moment and then changed direction, spinning me through the crowd to the back door of the gym. I caught a glimpse of Bella and Edward dancing, sending us a couple of smiles every now and then, which we returned instantly. Then, I saw Jessica and Mike dancing, staring at me curiously. Jessica waved a bit hesitantly, probably wondering if it was really me. When I smiled back quickly, however, she beamed at me before turning her attention back to Mike. Angela was there, too, looking blissfully happy in the arms of little Ben Cheney; she didn't look up from his eyes, a head lower than hers. Lee and Samantha, Lauren, glaring toward us, with Conner; I could name every face that spiraled past me now. And then we were outdoors, in the cool, dim light of a fading sunset.

As soon as we were alone, he swung me up into his arms, emitting a squeal out of me, and carried me across the dark grounds till he reached the bench beneath the shadow of the madrone trees. He sat there, keeping me cradled against his chest. The moon was already up, visible through the gauzy clouds, and his face glowed in the white light. His mouth was hard, his eyes troubled.

"The point?" I prompted softly.

He ignored me, staring up at the moon.

"Twilight, again," he murmured.

I glanced up at the moon, and let out a small sigh, leaning my head against his shoulder. "Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end."

"Some things don't have to end," he murmured.

"Some things I'd rather did," I muttered, motioning my hand, lazily, to our surroundings.

He sighed.

"I brought you to the prom," he said slowly, finally answering my question, "because I wanted you to experience it. You said you never got the chance and I didn't want my presence to hold you back, if I could help it. I know you never got the chance to be an actual human, and, if you did, you probably hardly even remember. I want to be the one to remind you."

I looked up at him and touched his face lightly. "My life has never been normal, Mason. Honestly, I don't think it ever will be, but it's not because of you. You should know that by now."

His lips twitched slightly as my fingertips brushed over them. He puckered them, kissing my fingers gently before they went to trace his jaw. "I still want to try. You want to be human? I'll teach you how. I want your life to continue as it would have if you'd never gone  _there_. If I'd died a long time ago like I should have if I were normal myself."

I shuddered at his words, and then shook my head, scoffing. "In what strange parallel dimension would I ever have gone to prom of my own free will? Not even the Cullens would've been able to drag me. And if it hadn't been for Bella begging me to go along with this little surprise you and the Cullens we're planning for us, and you blindfolding me, I would never have let you get away with this."

He smiled briefly, but it didn't touch his eyes. "It wasn't so bad, you said so yourself."

"That's because I was with you," I blurted out, my eyes instantly going owlishly wide as I said so.

We were quiet for a minute; he stared at the moon, and I stared at him. I wished there was some way to explain how very uninterested I was in a normal human life now, especially if it held but events like these.

Prom. Ew…

"Will you tell me something?" he asked, glancing down at me with a slight smile.

"Don't I always?"

"Just promise you'll tell me," he insisted, grinning.

I knew I was going to regret this almost instantly. "Fine."

"You seemed honestly surprised when you figured out that I was taking you here," he began.

"I was," I interjected.

"Exactly," he agreed. "But you must have had some other theory… I'm curious— what did you think I was dressing you up for?"

I pursed my lips, hesitating. "I don't want to tell you."

"You promised," he objected.

"I know."

"What's the problem?"

I knew he thought it was mere embarrassment holding me back. "You'll find me incredibly emo."

His brows pulled together over his eyes as he thought that through. "I still want to know. Please?"

I sighed. He waited. "Well… I assumed it was some kind of… occasion. But I didn't think it would be some trite human thing… prom!" I scoffed.

"Human?" he asked flatly. He'd picked up on the keyword.

I looked down at my dress, fidgeting with a stray piece of chiffon. He waited in silence.

"Okay," I confessed in a rush. "So, I may or may not have _actually_ thought we were going to someone's funeral— dead people are technically not human anymore... right?"

A dozen emotions played across his face before it finally settled with amusement.

I scowled to hide my embarrassment. "Don't start laughing at me; I in near isolation for eight years, so I don't know how these things work. To me, at least, it seems more rational than prom does."

He was still grinning.

"It's not funny," I said.

"No, you're right, it's not," he agreed, his smile fading. "I'd rather treat it as a joke, though, than believe you're serious."

"I am serious," I deadpanned.

He sighed deeply. "I know."

I glanced down momentarily, biting my lip in hesitation. "When they come into my head... they warn me sometimes, without even meaning to."

He looked back down at me, giving me a questioning look. "Who?"

I opened my mouth, but then retaliated; I wasn't ready to say anything yet, even though we've been together for a while. I pulled away from his arms and settled beside him on the bench. I stared down at my hands for a moment before looking back up at the sky.

"I was so... afraid to give into to you because of them. I was so sure that the little of myself I had left… that if I'd let it out… it would bring me to an end," I murmured, more to myself than him, "I was so sure that it would be the twilight of my life, though my life has barely started."

I inhaled deeply, then let out a shaky breath. "I was so ready to give up when it had barely started."

"It's not the end, it's the beginning," he disagreed, pulling my chin up so I would look at him.

"I'm not worth it," I whispered.

He smiled and inclined his head slowly until his warm, yet slightly cold lips brushed against the skin just under the corner of my jaw. "Who says you're not?" he whispered, his breath blowing cool on my neck.

I didn't answer.

He pulled me closer, brushing his fingers along my cheek. "Mila." His fingers lightly slipped down, tracing the shape of my lips. "You _are_ worth it. You are worth it to me. You look down on yourself and think yourself unworthy of anything, but trust me when I tell you, _you are worth so much_ — you are worth everything to me."

I look at him for a moment before tugging his fingers away from my lips, then pulling him into me, pressing my mouth against his. My hands on his chest, and his arms around me, our lips moved in sync as we shared a fiery, passionate kiss, only one thing flowing through my mind that made me feel warm inside. One thing that made me... happy.

I finally found a Dawn to my Twilight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N. Probably my personal experience, but my prom sucked so bad, that's why I don't like 'em. Actually, now that I think about it, most fancy events I'd gone to sucked; I either wound up sick or on the verge of becoming sick… ugh, prom.


	22. Sneak Peak - Midnight Blue (Twilight fan fiction - Book Two)

It felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. In a way, it had been. I had just witnessed the death of the _first_ person I ever _truly_ loved so much. I didn't want to believe it though. That drove me to run through the woods there, nights later.

He just couldn't be gone.

" _Oh, no! We need to stop them. Stop! Kill me instead!_ " a demon sneered.

" _We can't, daímonas prinkípissa!_ " another exclaimed, laughing— undoubtedly at me— as I slid down the tree trunk. " _That was your one shot_."

" _No! We have to—_ " another mocked me, making the others laugh.

"Mila..."

I was shaking my head and pulling at my hair, mumbling, "Shut up," repeatedly, but they just wouldn't shut their filthy mouths.

It was getting harder and harder to contain my emotions. It had been this way for the past few weeks since we got back. The voices would start bothering me at the most expected yet unexpected moments, and I would run into the woods near  _our_  tree and just collapse, trying to push the demons out of my head. Though something was different this time.

I wouldn't be able to hold it at this time.

" _It's too late_ ," another demon sand, and again, they laughed.

"No," I mumbled repeatedly.

" _You can say goodbye!_ " another demon sang, making the others laugh.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" I screamed, finally letting the tears escape the corner of my eyes and run down in waterfalls down my flushed cheeks.

"Mila."

It was nothing but a whisper, but it still overpowered the others. His voice was just as I remembered it. Deep, calm and musical.

I must be dreaming.

I shut my eyes and buried my face between my knees. I stiffened when I felt something warm yet cold rest on my shoulder. I looked up to bore my teary, midnight blue gaze into his beautiful emerald-green eyes and stood up, never taking my eyes off of him.

"You lied to me," I croaked in a voice gone thick from all the crying.

He leaned forward and stroked my hair and face. I felt it, but when I tried to grab his hand, mine went right through, making me cry harder.

"Even if I wanted to apologize, you couldn't hear me... so I won't."

I shook my head. "I can see you— hear you. Please... please, don't leave me."

"I don't have a choice, Silver. You are, by far, the greatest thing that ever happened to me in on all my time on this Earth. I get to die knowing I was loved— not just by anyone— by you, Milarayne Williams. It's the epitome of a fulfilled life. It's never gonna get any better than this. I peaked," he murmured, gently wiping the tears from my face.

"I love you, Mila."

I shook my head and tried to reach for his arm, but my hand went right through him again. "Please... please... come back to me."

" _Goodbye…_ " And his large, towering figure faded away.

I backed up once more against the tree. "Mason?" I whispered.

He couldn't be...

"Mason, please..."

I let out a loud scream as I leaned my back fully against the tree and slid down, hugging my knees up to my chest.

He's gone...

**Author's Note:**

> **ATTENTION** I DO NOT OWN ANY OF STEPHENIE MEYER'S ORIGINAL CHARACTERS FROM THE ORIGINAL TWILIGHT SAGA. I ONLY OWN MILARAYNE, HER FAMILY, MASON, JASON, AND SOME OTHERS I MIGHT CREATE FURTHER ON.


End file.
